THE FAMILY OF ZOPHER JOHNS(T)ON
JUNIOR
AND HIS WIFE, PHEBE COOPER
OF GREENE COUNTY, TENNESSEE
THIS FAMILY HISTORY HAS BEEN COMPILED FROM PRIMARY SOURCE
DOCUMENTS IN VA, TN, MO, AR, AND OK; GREENE COUNTY MARRIAGES 1783-
1868 BY GOLDENE FILLERS BURGNER; EARLY EAST TENNESSEE MARRIAGES
BY BARBARA AND BYRON SISTLER; GREENE COUNTY TAX LISTS AND DEEDS;
CARTOGRAPHY OF THE ZOPHER JOHNS(T)ON AND CHRISTOPHER COOPER
FARMS IN GREENE COUNTY, TENNESSEE, BY WAYNE CONDUFF; GREENE
COUNTY CEMETERY TRANSCRIPTIONS BY BUFFORD REYNOLDS AND HIS
ASSOCIATES; LAND DEEDS IN HAMILTON COUNTY, ILLINOIS; MARRIAGE
RECORDS FOR HAMILTON COUNTY AND FRANKLIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS;
MEMOIRES OF THE ILLINOIS 40TH BY DR. JOHN HUNT; GUIDE TO THE BATTLE
OF SHILOH, EDITED BY JAY LUVAAS ET AL; THE CIVIL WAR PENSION PAPERS
OF (1) CHRISTOPHER COOPER JOHNSON, IL 40TH, COMPANY A. (2) JAMES A.
JOHNSON, IL 40TH, COMPANY A (3) SOLOMON PAGE, IL 40TH, COMPANY A
(4) ZOPHER ALEXANDER JOHNSON, 13TH IL CAVALRY, COMPANY H; THE
ESTATE SETTLEMENT OF CHRISTOPHER COOPER JOHNSON - JOHN H.
JOHNSON, ADMINISTRATOR; THE GUARDIANSHIP RECORDS FOR THE MINOR
ORPHANS OF CHRISTOPHER COOPER JOHNSON; 1927 INTERVIEW OF JAMES A.
JOHNSON BY THE MT. VERNON, ILLINOIS NEWSPAPER; THE TRANSCRIPTION
OF THE METHODIST CHURCH CEMETERY IN MACEDONIA, ILLINOIS;
OBITUARIES OF FAMILY MEMBERS; THE BOOKS, NORTHERN TOWNSHIP
FRANKLIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS: A HISTORY, VOLUMES 1 AND 2 BY DAVID E.
GOSS; THE BOOKS, FRANKLIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS 1860 CENSUS AND FRANKLIN
COUNTY, ILLINOIS 1870 CENSUS PLUS, BY JUDITH WALLEY COUEY; THE BOOK,
LEGACY OF KIN HAMILTON COUNTY, ILLINOIS VOLUME I, BY HAROLD G.
FELTY; THE BOOKLET, MACEDONIA 1976 (ILLINOIS), A HISTORY PROJECT BY
THE MACEDONIA EASTERN STAR 1028; A COMPENDIUM OF THE WAR OF THE
REBELLION, BY FREDERICK H. DYER, ILLINOIS 40TH INFANTRY; THE BOOK,
TWENTY FIVE MILK RUNS BY RICHARD RILEY JOHNSON; THE BOOK, EARLY
JOHNSON’S OF HAMILTON COUNTY, ILLINOIS, BY REV. JAMES WILLIAM
DUPREE; THE JOHNSON SURNAME DNA PROJECT AND THE BOOK, THE SEVEN
DAUGHTERS OF EVE BY BRYAN SYKES; AND INFORMATION FROM THE
DESCENDANTS OF CHRISTOPHER AND KATHRYN KERBAUGH JOHNSON, JAMES
A. AND MINERVA ADELINE CARNEY JOHNSON, ZOPHER ALEXANDER AND
SARAH BOSTER JOHNSON, ENOCH AND ELIZABETH JANE JOHNS(T)ON
JOHNSON, CALVIN AND PHOEBA ADELINE JOHNSON BUNTON, ALBERT AND
SARAH ANN JOHNSON CULLIN, JOHN HENDERSON JOHNSON AND HIS FIRST
WIFE, SARAH GRAHAM AND SECOND WIFE TALITHA CUMA SEXTON, JAMES H.
AND HILA MARTHA JOHNSON WILLIS, AND OTHER RESEARCHERS OF THIS
ILLINOIS FAMILY.
THE FAMILY OF ZOPHER JR. & PHEBE COOPER JOHNS(T)ON
OF GREENE COUNTY, TENNESSEE
Zopher Johns(t)on Junior, born 10-15-1790, was the first child born in Tennessee to Zopher Johnston
Senior, a Revolutionary War Soldier of Virginia. On 1-18-1817, Zopher Johns(t)on Junior married Phebe
Cooper, bond by William A. Hankins. Phebe, born 4-3-1791 in Virginia, was the daughter of Jane (Brown)
and Christopher Cooper Senior, a Revolutionary War soldier of Virginia. After their marriage, Zopher
Junior and Phebe resided near Phebe’s parents on a 65 acre farm.
Zopher Junior, like his brothers, was a farmer and a cooper. After 13 years of marriage, two sons and three
daughters were in their 1830 household. Their sons were Christopher Cooper (born c. 1822) and John
Henderson (born 1829). The daughters were Jane (born 1817); Hila Martha (born 1827) and Mary (born c.
1828). By the 1840 Census, their oldest daughter, Jane, had married Hiram Gibbs Johnson and was in her
separate household. A third son had been born to Zopher and Phebe between 1831-1835. Oral family
tradition identifies this last born son as “Otes” (Otis), who died in childhood.
Shortly before the 1850 Census, Zopher Junior purchased a 103 acre farm from his nephew, John Foster.
The Foster brothers were planning to migrate from Tennessee to northern Missouri. The Foster farm was
adjacent to Zopher’s brothers, John and Joseph, who each owned one-half of the original Johns(t)on farm
located on the Roaring Fork of Lick Creek in Civil District 12.
In the 1850 Agricultural Census, Zopher Junior’s assets included 3 horses, 1 milk cow, 10 swine, Indian
corn, oats, Irish and sweet potatoes, butter, and manufactured goods valued at $20. The total value of their
agricultural assets totaled $723, excluding their land. By the time of the 1850 Census, the original surname
of Johnston had been permanently changed to “Johnson”. Only two of Zopher Junior and Phebe’s children,
John and Mary, remained in their 1850 household. Also in the household were two “orphan” children,
George, age 6, and Sarah, age 3. In 1850, the surnames of these two young children were not given;
however, in the 1860 census of Hamilton County, Illinois, George was identified as George “Guess”
(Gass). Zopher and Phebe’s daughter, Hila, lived next door as “tenants” with her husband, James H. Willis,
and their infant son, John.
The Family of Zopher Johns(t)on Junior and many of their intermarried “kin” began to leave their homes in
Tennessee in the early 1850s. Most of these family members would migrate to northern Missouri. On 10-
13-1852, Zopher Junior sold the 103 acre farm to neighbor, Cornelius Hardin. Zopher Junior and Phebe
also intended to migrate to northern Missouri.
While the Family was in route to northern Missouri, they stopped off in Hamilton County, Illinois. Zopher
Junior and Phebe’s daughter, Jane, was married to Hiram Gibbs Johnson of the “Middle Creek” Johnsons
of Greene County. Hiram’s brother Robert Henry Johnson had left Tennessee in the early 1840’s and
settled in Hamilton County, Illinois. I believe it is for this reason, Zopher Junior stopped in Illinois.
In 1927 a newspaper interviewed Zopher Junior and Phebe’s grandson, James A. Johnson (1843-1927) who
was only a boy of ten at the time of the Family’s migration. James said that the family did not continue
their migration to Missouri because of a death in the family. Late in 1853, on 12-15-1853, Zopher Junior
and his son, Christopher, purchased three 45.70 acre tracts of homestead land paying $1.25 per acre in
Section 30 of the Knights Prairie Township in Hamilton County, Illinois.
In 1860, Zopher Junior’s Family were all enumerated in the census of Hamilton County, Illinois.
Remaining in their household was the young boy, George, who now in 1860, was enumerated as George
“Guess” (Gass). Zopher Junior and Phebe’s two sons, Christopher Cooper Johnson and John Henderson
Johnson, lived in adjacent households. Their daughter, Jane Johns(t)on Johnson, the wife of Hiram Gibbs
Johnson, lived nearby as did Hiram’s brothers, Robert Henry and John Kent Johnson. For further
information on this closely intermarried Johnson Family, please refer to the separate articles on
brothers, Hiram Gibbs, Robert Henry and John Kent, the sons William and Nancy Morgan Johnson
of Middle Creek in Greene County, Tennessee.
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THE FAMILY OF ZOPHER JR. & PHEBE COOPER JOHNSTON
(Continued)
No doubt, both Johnson families originally from Tennessee held high hopes for their new and prosperous
life in southern Illinois. Nothing could have prepared them for the storm that was soon to come. The
looming Civil War would bring tragedies beyond compare to both Johnson families from Greene County,
Tennessee. There would soon be several widows and many orphaned children.
The year of 1862 was a traumatic year for the Zopher Junior family. Zopher Junior’s wife, Phebe Cooper
Johnson, died on 6-6-1862. Their oldest daughter, Jane, died in September. Their daughter-in-law,
Kathryn Kerbaugh Johnson died in September, and their oldest son, Christopher Cooper Johnson, died in
November.
In March 1863, Zopher Johnson Junior transferred his land by warranty deed to his only surviving son,
John Henderson Johnson. In March 1866, Zopher Junior provided a pension affidavit for his orphaned
grandchildren so they could receive a Civil War pension for their deceased father, Christopher Cooper
Johnson, Illinois 40th, Company A. Zopher Johnson Junior died on 12-6-1866. It is believed he and his
wife, Phebe Cooper Johnson, were buried near an apple orchard on their farm in Hamilton County, Illinois.
The children of Zopher and Phebe Cooper Johnson were:
1. Jane, born 10-16-1817. Jane married Hiram Gibbs Johnson on 9-7-1837 in Greene County, Tennessee.
Hiram was the son of William and Nancy Morgan Johnson, who lived in far south Greene County on
Middle Creek. For further information on the Middle Creek Johnson Family, please refer to the
separate articles on the William and Nancy Morgan Johnson Family. Jane and Hiram were in
Hamilton County, Illinois by 1855. Their children were: (1) Martha, born c. 1838, who married Mr.
Conn and died sometime after 1876; (2) Margaret Jane, born on 13-13-1843, who married Simeon W.
Dare. She died on 10-7-1870. (3) Phebe Caroline, born on 2-13-1847, who married Albert Marion
Fisher. She died on 2-12-1935. (4) Tennessee V. I. (“Isabelle”), born c. 1855 in Illinois, who lived with
her stepmother in 1880. For further information, please refer to the separate article on the Jane and
Hiram Gibbs Johnson Family of Middle Creek.
2. Christopher Cooper, born c. 1822. Christopher married Kathryn Kerbaugh on 12-31-1840 in Greene
County. Kathryn was the daughter of Elizabeth Wampler and John Kerbaugh. Christopher and his young
family migrated to Hamilton County, Illinois, with Christopher’s parents. Kathryn, Christopher and an
infant son died during the Civil War while Christopher was in Memphis, Tennessee with the Illinois 40th
Infantry, Company A. The children of Christopher and Kathryn Johnson were: (1) Elizabeth Jane
“Lizzie”, born c. 1841, who married Enoch Johnson; (2) James A., born 1-7-1843; (3) Zopher
Alexander, born 10-23-1845; (4) Phoebe Adeline, born 11-15-1847, who married Calvin Buntin;
(5) Sarah Ann, born 2-25-1858 in Illinois, who married Albert Cullins; and (6) Ellsworth, born c.
1861/62 in Illinois, who died in 1862. Christopher and Kathryn Johnson are the great-great grandparents of
the author of this book. For further information, please refer to the separate article on the
Christopher Cooper and Kathryn Kerbaugh Johnson Family.
3. John Henderson, born 11-30-1829. John married Sarah Graham on 10-30-1850 in Greene County,
Tennessee. Sarah was the daughter of John Graham, who is possibly related to the Johnson Family. (Refer
to the separate article on Zopher Johnston Senior whose daughter, Sarah, married John Graham in 1806.)
John and Sarah Johnson also settled in Hamilton County, Illinois. Sarah and John had six children before
Sarah died on 7-20-1869. These children were: (1) Zopher, born 9-1-1851 in Greene County. At the time
of his death in 1932, he was the last of the 200+ year namesakes of Zopher Johntson “the Elder” from
Greene County, Tennessee. (2) William, born 11-7-1852, who died on 11-4-1858; (3) Christopher
Columbus, born 9-10-1856; (4) Nancy Ann, born 5-8-1859; (5) John Logan, born 11-17-1861, who
died 12-6-1862; and (6) Lizzie Jane, born 8-9-1865. After John’s first wife, Sarah, died he remarried to
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THE FAMILY OF ZOPHER JR. & PHEBE COOPER JOHNSTON
(Continued)
Talitha Cuma Sexton on 12-26-1869. John and Talitha had seven children: (7) Minnie Louisa, born 10-
22-1870; (8) Winnie May, born 2-8-1872; (9) Mary Etta, born 4-4-1874; (10) Clara Ester, born 5-2-
1877; (11) John Huggard, born 2-26-1880; (12) Ada Lenora, born 4-5-1882; and (13) Ella Ethel, born
4-7-1884. John Henderson Johnson died on 6-19-1919. For further information, please refer to the
separate article on the John Henderson Johnson Family.
4. Hila “Hiley” Martha, born 5-11-1827. Hila married her cousin, James H. Willis, on 9-13-1847 in
Greene County. James H. Willis, born 5-1-1828, was a grandson of John and Esther Brown Willis. Esther
Brown was the daughter of Old Jotham and Pheby Brown, who were the great-grandparents of Hila Martha
Johnson. For additional information on the Willis Family, please refer to the separate article on the
John and Esther Brown Willis Family. James and Hiley Willis migrated to Grundy County, Missouri in
1852. They had ten children: (1) John E., born July 1848; (2) Joseph Alexander, born 11-23-1850 in
Tennessee; (3) William Arthur, born September 1853 in Missouri; (4) Sarah J., born c. 1857; (5) Robert
Thomas, born 1-1-1859 a twin; (6) Martha L., born 1-1-1859, a twin; (7) Caroline E., born January 1862;
(8) Nancy Ann, born 5-16-1865; (9) Nettie Louisa , born 10-30- 1868; and (10) Charles George, born c.
1870. James H. Willis died on 10-28-1902. Hila Martha Johnson Willis died on 3-1-1903. For further
information, please refer to the separate article on the James H. and Hiley Johnson Willis Family.
5. Mary, born c. 1828. There is no information on Mary other than the 1850 Census when she resided in
her parents’ Tennessee household. There is no marriage record for her in Greene County, Tennessee, nor
in Hamilton County, Illinois, where her parents settled. In the 1855 state census of Hamilton County,
Illinois, a young woman, age 20-30, is in the household of Zopher and Phebe. She is presumed to be their
daughter, Mary. Also in the household was a young boy (George W. Gass) and two young females under
the age of ten. Family tradition in the Gass Family holds George W. Gass had sisters “Sal” and Kate, who
may be the two young females in Zopher and Phebe’s 1855 household. For further information on the
Gass Family, please refer to the separate article on George W. Gass. The relationship of these young
Gass children to Mary Johnson, cannot be confirmed. Mary is not in the 1860 census; however, a two-year
old child, Sarilda Johnson (born c. 1858), lived with the elderly Phebe and Zopher Johnson Junior at this
time. Sarilda Johnson could be a grandchild, although again, the relationship of Sarilda cannot be
substantiated. When Sarilda married, she gave her father’s name as Robert Johnson and her mother as
“not known”. The name of the father, Robert Johnson, could “place” Sarilda Johnson with the Middle
Creek Johnson Family. By the time of the 1870 census, Sarilda Johnson lived as an “adopted daughter”
with a local Minister. No further information is available for Mary or Sarilda Johnson, who both appear to
have had short and sad lives. Mary was surely deceased by 1880 when a quit claim deed to land in Section
30 was signed by her brother, John, and the heirs of her deceased brother, Christopher.
6. “Oates” (Otis), born c. 1831-1835. Oral family tradition holds that the last born child was named Otis,
and he died in childhood. There is no evidence of his birth or his death. The Johnson Family bible was
destroyed in a house fire in Illinois in the late 1800’s. However, the 1840 census does substantiate a son
was born during this time frame, and he was no longer in Zopher and Phebe’s 1850 household.
The Zopher Johns(t)on Junior Family is the only branch of the Johns(t)on Family of Greene County,
Tennessee, who settled in Illinois. The other branches of the Family migrated to northern Missouri. The
Illinois branch is participating in the Johns(t)on DNA Project. Three male members of the Illinois branch
are represented in the DNA Project. The male Haplotype of the Zopher Johns(t)on Family is the
ubiquitous, R1b. The female, MtDNA, of a direct, mother-to-daughter, descendant of Phebe Cooper
Johns(t)on has also been tested. She is a descendant of Hila Martha Johnson Willis (child #4). The female
lineage is categorized as Haplotype “J”. For further information, refer to the separate article on the
James H. and Hila Martha Johnson Willis Family. Information on the Johnson DNA Project is found in
Appendix 2, and future updates will be posted to our website, www.johnsonfamilyhistory.org.
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THE FAMILY OF ZOPHER JR. & PHEBE COOPER JOHNSTON
(Continued)
The tradition of using “middle” names first appears beginning with the generation born about 1820. All of
Zopher Junior’s children were given middle names. So, too, were the children of Zopher Junior’s brothers,
John (1788-1855) and Joseph (1792-1872) Johns(t)on. From the middle names given to their children, it is
possible the middle name of Zopher Junior and his father, Zopher Senior, was perhaps Alexander. The
Alexander surname is of Scottish origin and could hold clues to an unidentified maternal line.
After Zopher Junior and Phebe arrived in Hamilton County, Illinois in 1853, they were enumerated in the
State census of 1855. In this census, Zopher Junior had $80 of livestock. Zopher Junior’s son, Christopher
Cooper Johnson, held $100 in livestock. Zopher Junior’s son, John Henderson Johnson, is not found in the
1855 census. Apparently he was in Missouri at this date.
The 1855 state census enumerates by name, only the head of household. In 1855, living in Zopher Junior’s
household was a young boy, age 10-20, who would be George W. Gass. Also in the household was a
young woman, age 20-30, who appears to be Zopher and Phebe’s daughter, Mary. Also in the household
were two young females, both under ten years of age. Family “tradition” holds these two young girls were
sisters, “Sal” (Sarah) and Kate Gass, siblings of George W. Gass.
By the 1860 federal census, Zopher Junior was enumerated as a “farmer” with $800 in real property and
$50 in personal property. In this census, he is listed as unable to read and write, although in 1850 back in
Tennessee, he was shown to be literate. Zopher Junior’s wife was listed as literate in both the 1850 and
1860 census enumerations. In their 1860 household was George W. Gass, age 16 with the occupation of
“farmer”, and Sarilda C. Johnson, age 2, who is an “unidentified” person. Zopher Junior’s son,
Christopher and his Family lived next to Zopher Junior and had $600 in real property and $400 in personal
property. The son, John Henderson Johnson, was now in Illinois and lived by his parents. John’s
occupation was given as “farmer and carpenter”, and he owned $240 in real property and $150 in personal
property. Both of Zopher Junior’s sons, Christopher and John, were literate.
In January 1866 when Zopher Junior gave an affidavit on behalf of his orphaned grandchildren, he signed
the document with his “mark”. Whether or not he was literate remains uncertain. Zopher Johnson Junior
died intestate in December 1866.
After his wife, Phebe, daughter, Jane, and son, Christopher’s deaths in 1862, we do not know who took
care of Zopher Junior, who would have been in his mid-seventies. Both of his grandsons (James A. and
Zopher Alexander Johnson) were away at War in 1864 and 1865. It would be a probable assumption that
Zopher Junior lived with his only living child, who was John Henderson Johnson. However, John
Henderson Johnson left Illinois and was in Missouri in 1864 through at least September 1865, and possibly
as late as 1869. Thus, the only person in Illinois at this time was Zopher Junior’s granddaughter, Elizabeth
Jane, the wife of Enoch Sanford Johnson. It is extremely probable that Elizabeth Jane, Christopher’s
daughter, took care of not only her orphaned sisters, Phebe Adeline and Sarah Ann, but her grandfather,
Zopher, as well. What an awesome responsibility for a twenty-five year old woman.
There is no clear record of what became of the homestead lands in Section 30 of Hamilton County acquired
in 1853 and 1854:
Land purchased by Christopher Cooper Johnson:
12-15-1853 Hamilton County, Section 30, Township 05S, Range 05E, Meridian 3:
45.64 acres, SENW, $1.25 price per acre
10-10-1854 Hamilton County, Section 30, Township 05S, Range 05E, Meridian 3:
45.69 acres, NESW (for a total 91.33 acres by 1854)
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THE FAMILY OF ZOPHER JR. & PHEBE COOPER JOHNSTON
(Continued)
Land purchased by Zopher Johnson Junior:
12-15-1853 Hamilton County, Section 30, Township 05S, Range 05E, Meridian 3:
45.7 acres SWNW and 45.7 acres NWSW, (total 91.4 acres) $1.25 price per acre
Christopher’s land was sold for $300 in his Estate Settlement. The Administrator was Christopher’s
brother, John Henderson Johnson. The acreage sold was 91.38 acres with the description of “NESW
section 30 T5 R5 and SENW Section 30 T5R5”. We do not know who purchased Christopher’s farm that
was adjacent to his Father, Zopher Junior’s land.
After the death of his oldest son, Christopher Cooper Johnson, Zopher transferred at least part of his
acreage to his only surviving son, John Henderson Johnson. Zopher Junior’s farm totaled 91.4 acres and
consisted of two tracts of land with descriptions of:
“SWNW Section 30, Township 5, 45.7 acres and
NWSW Section 30, Township 5, 45.7 acres”
Quit Claim deeds signed by John Henderson Johnson and the heirs of Christopher Cooper Johnson, would
appear to represent the sale of part of Zopher Junior’s homestead farm. The SWNW parcel was released by
Quit Claim deeds signed in May of 1880 to John F. Smothers. The Quit Claim deeds were signed by the
heirs of Zopher Junior’s deceased children, Christopher and Jane, and Zopher Junior’s only living child at
the time, John Henderson Johnson. These Quit Claim Deeds for land with the description of SWNW
Section 30-5-5 were to John F. Smothers. The Quit Claim Deed was not filed until 1885. Those signing
Quit Claim Deeds included:
5-1-1880: John H. and Talitha C. Johnson (Zopher’s son)
5-1-1880: Elizabeth Jane and Enoch S. Johnson (Heir of Zopher’s son, Christopher)
5-3-1880: James A. and Minerva Johnson (Heir of Zopher’s son, Christopher)
5-3-1880: Z. (Zopher) A. and Sarah Johnson (Heir of Zopher’s son, Christopher)
5-3-1880: A. (Albert) M. (Marion) and
Phebe C. (Caroline) Fisher (Heir of Zopher’s daughter, Jane)
On 7-19-1880, Cyrena C. and John F. Smothers transferred by Warranty deed, land with the description of
SWNW Section 30-5-5 to Mary (Sullivan) Gass. Mary Gass was the wife of George W. Gass, who came to
Illinois as a young boy with the Zopher and Phebe Johnson Family. Thus, it appears, part of Zopher
Junior’s homestead farm was eventually purchased by George W. and Mary (Sullivan) Gass. The deed was
filed on 2-2-1882.
By 1905, the first Plat Map of Hamilton County, the SWNW section of 45.63 acres was owned by the J.
Lee Family, who still owned this land in the 1940 Plat Map. In 1905, most of the land purchased in 1853
by Christopher Cooper Johnson and his Father, Zopher Johnson Junior, was owned by C. (Cornelius) C.
Boster (1863-1945). Sarah Ann Boster was the wife of Christopher’s son, Zopher Alexander Johnson.
Therefore, it appears that by 1905, George W. and Mary Gass had sold this land to C. C. Boster. The 1905
Plat Map showing Section 30 is included in Appendix 5.
The 1974 Plat Map of Section 30 in Hamilton County shows the Vise Brothers owned the lands which had
originally been acquired in 1853 and 1854 as homestead land by Christopher Cooper Johnson and his
Father, Zopher Johnson Junior.
Unfortunately, the family cemetery on the homestead farm where Zopher and Phebe Cooper Johnson, and
possibly their daughter, Mary, are buried has not been located as of this writing. Perhaps some day, we will
be successful in finding this cemetery.
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THE FAMILY OF ZOPHER JR. & PHEBE COOPER JOHNSTON
(Continued)
Certain information presented in the continuing articles on the descendants of Zopher and Phebe Cooper
Johnson is from the book, Early Johnsons of Hamilton County, Illinois by Reverend James William
Dupree, 804 Moore Drive, Americus, Georgia 31709. Reverend Dupree’s book was compiled from census
records, court records, obituaries and other records in Hamilton County, Illinois. Reverend Dupree also
solicited information from descendants to compile his book.
Much of the information relating to Zopher Johns(t)on Junior’s son, Christopher Cooper Johnson, was
contributed by his descendants, including Carleen Johnson Schmidt, Barbara Hall Ross, and Vernon and
Emogene Gass Glass. Information on Zopher Johns(t)on Junior’s son, John Henderson Johnson, was
contributed by his descendants, including Lee E. Johnson, Dr. Joseph Williams and Lela Broyles.
Information on both Christopher’s and John Henderson’s families, as well as the “orphan” George W. Gass
and his family, was provided by Emogene Gass Glass, a descendant of little George W. Gass who lived
with Zopher and Phebe from the age of six.
For persons who wish to obtain a copy of this wonderful reference book, it should be noted that the
information presented by Reverend Dupree on the Johnson Family prior to their arrival in Hamilton
County, Illinois, is not correct. The information on Zopher Johnson Junior, and his Father, Zopher
Johnston Senior, a Revolutionary War Soldier, as it relates to their years in Greene County, Tennessee
is wrong in several aspects and should not be relied upon. This is not to disparage Reverend Dupree’s
work, for which I am most grateful. The errors related to the time the Family lived in Greene County,
Tennessee, are the result of misinformation given to Reverend Dupree by an unrelated Johnson Family who
lives in Greeneville. This information has been proven to be incorrect by genealogy research and by DNA.
Reverend Dupree’s information on the Family after their arrival in Hamilton County, Illinois has been
proven to be extremely accurate, with only minor exceptions.
The articles on Zopher and Phebe Johnson’s sons, Christopher Cooper Johnson (c. 1822-1862) and Dr.
John Henderson Johnson (1829-1919) continue. Only a brief overview of the Dr. John Henderson Johnson
Family is included. Dr. John’s Family was extensively covered in Reverend Dupree’s book, Early
Johnsons of Hamilton County, Illinois, pages 498-522. This information was provided by Dr. John’s
descendants, many of whom still reside in or near Macedonia, Illinois. Persons who desire information on
Dr. John Henderson Johnson’s Family should obtain a copy of Reverend Dupree’s book.
Although the relationship of George W. Gass to the Zopher Johnson Family cannot be definitively
established, the family of George W. Gass (1844-1931) is included at the end of this chapter. If George W.
Gass was not indeed a “blood relative”, he was most definitely an “adopted” son.
CHRISTOPHER AND KATHRYN KERBAUGH JOHNSON
OF GREENE COUNTY, TENNESSEE
Co-written with Barbara Hall Ross, Carlene Johnson Schmidt, and Eldora Browning Phillips
Christopher Cooper Johnson, born c. 1822, was the oldest son of Zopher Johnston Junior and his wife,
Phebe Cooper Johnson. Christopher was the namesake of his maternal grandfather, Christopher Cooper
Senior, a Revolutionary War soldier from Virginia who died in Greene County, Tennessee in 1830.
Kathryn, born c. 1822, was the daughter of John and Elizabeth “Betsy” Wampler Kerbaugh.
Christopher and Kathryn were married in Greene County on 12-31-1840, bond by John Hardin, Junior.
Following their marriage, Christopher and Kathryn resided near Kathryn’s parents in Civil District 8 in the
western part of Greene County near today’s Pruitt Road. Kathryn’s father, John Kerbaugh, was a disabled
soldier of the War of 1812 who drew a pension. Christopher was surely needed to help manage the
Kerbaugh farm, because his father-in-law could do little if any work. For additional information on
John Kerbaugh and his War of 1812 pension application, please refer to the separate article on the
John and Elizabeth Wampler Kerbaugh Family.
Christopher was a farmer, and also practiced the trade of “coopering” like his father, uncles and cousins.
In the Fall of 1853, Christopher and Kathryn and their four young children left Greene County with
Christopher’s parents, Zopher and Phebe Johns(t)on. The family settled in southern Illinois where
Christopher and his father purchased 180 acres of land in the Knights Prairie Township in Hamilton
County. Their homestead farms purchased for $1.25 an acre were adjacent to each other in Section 30.
By 1861, the talk of War was in the air. The Johnson family was solidly in support of the Union. The men
of Hamilton County patriotically answered the Call to Arms and formed the 40th Illinois Infantry. With the
zest for adventure, and the innocence of youth, Christopher and Kathryn’s oldest son, James, first answered
the call, enlisting on 8-12-1861. Two weeks thereafter, Christopher joined on August 26, as did his
brother-in-law, Solomon Page, the husband of Eusebia Kerbaugh Page. They all marched off to
Springfield, Illinois, together, where they were mustered in at Camp Butler. The Illinois 40th would see
much of the ensuing conflict in Christopher’s home state of Tennessee. Sometime around this time, a sixth
and last child was born to Christopher and Kathryn.
Christopher Cooper Johnson is described in his Civil War enlistment papers as 5’11 ½” tall, with dark hair,
dark eyes and dark complexion. His son, James, looked more like his mother’s German people. James was
5’8” with dark hair, light complexion and hazel eyes. Most of the recruits were young men. Christopher
was about 40 years old at the time. He was called “Uncle Chris” by his comrades, no doubt out of respect
for his age and experience.
The first major battle where the Illinois 40th participated was in the Spring of 1862 at Shiloh (Tennessee).
On the first day of the engagement, the 40th was positioned in the heart of the action. Christopher’s son,
James who was barely 19 years old, was injured and left for dead on the battlefield. Once nighttime fell,
James made it back to his Regiment. On the second day of battle reinforcements had arrived under the
cover of darkness on the previous night, and the tide turned to the Union’s favor.
The Confederate Army began retreating, hotly pursued by the Union Army. Covering their retreat, the
Confederates had positioned riflemen in the trees. Christopher, being an excellent Tennessee marksman,
“picked off” the sharpshooters, one-by-one. The battle of Shiloh was the bloodiest battle of the War at that
date. The massive casualties of this great battle appalled both North and South alike. General Grant would
later give special commendation to the men of the Illinois 40th for holding their lines after their ammunition
had been depleted. The engagement of the Illinois 40th at Shiloh is well documented in a large number of
books on the Civil War. Until relatively recently, the personal accounts of bravery by the individual
soldiers in Company A had died-out with the Veterans. About five years ago, the diary of one of the
soldiers of Company A was transcribed by a great-granddaughter and placed on the wonderful website,
www.carolyar.com. The heroic exploits of Christopher Cooper Johnson and his son, James, and the
Page 2
CHRISTOPHER AND KATHRYN KERBAUGH JOHNSON
(Continued)
tragic deaths of Christopher, his wife Kathryn, and infant son Ellsworth, all within a three-month period of
time, were recorded in this diary. As for their son, James who survived the War, the loss of his family at
Memphis must have had a profound emotional impact for the remainder of his life.
Following Shiloh, the Illinois 40th marched to Memphis, Tennessee which the Union would hold for the
remainder of the War. In the summer of 1862, as was so common through-out the War, many men fell
sick because of the crowded and unsanitary conditions. Both Christopher and his son, James, were among
the sick. Somehow, word of this got back to southern Illinois. Kathryn and her baby, Ellsworth, left
Macedonia and traveled to Memphis. Possibly in a weakened condition because of recent motherhood,
combined with the long journey, Kathryn became ill. She died on 9-3-1862. Christopher died on 11-27-
1862 with the rank of Corporal. The baby, Ellsworth also died. Only their son, James A. Johnson,
survived.
Christopher Cooper Johnson was an American Hero. At the age of 40, he became a statistic of the Civil
War. He was first buried in the historic Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis in grave number 574. Both the
Union and Confederate dead were buried there, often, side-by-side. After the War ended, the National
Cemetery system was created for Union soldiers. Christopher was re-interred in 1867 in the National
Cemetery in Memphis. He is listed in the National Roll of Honor, but sadly, he is among the thousands of
“unknown” soldiers buried there. When the soldiers were disinterred from Elmwood Cemetery, their
names and military Company were written in chalk on their wooden caskets. That day, a tropical deluge hit
Memphis. All traces of the chalk markings were erased from the caskets. Those men, including
Christopher Cooper Johnson, now lie buried in the National Cemetery with markers reading only
“unknown soldier”.
The graves of Christopher’s wife, Kathryn Kerbaugh Johnson, and their infant son, Ellsworth, have not
been found. They were not interred in Elmwood Cemetery. Kathryn and baby Ellsworth were most likely
interred in the historic Winchester Cemetery near the Mississippi river. This cemetery no longer exists.
When the cemetery was reclaimed for other uses in the mid-1900s, the residents of Memphis were given
the opportunity to relocate the graves of their loved ones to Elmwood Cemetery. The graves of Kathryn
and Ellsworth, who were probably buried in pauper graves with no markers, were long forgotten. They are
among the nameless who now rest under the modern-day glass pyramid complex at the Memphis landing
on the Mississippi River.
Christopher and Kathryn had five surviving children at the time of their premature deaths, three of whom
were minors. By the time the pension applications were processed, only one child was still in minority and
received a war pension. She was their youngest daughter, Sarah Ann. We do not know how many children
were born to Christopher and Kathryn Kerbaugh Johnson. The 11-year gap between the births of child #4
(Phoebe Adeline born in 1847) and child #5 (Sarah Ann born in 1858) surely reflect the births of children
who did not survive childhood. Their older children were born in Tennessee. The two youngest children,
Sarah Ann and Ellsworth, were born in Illinois. Christopher and Kathryn’s known children were:
1. Elizabeth Jane (“Lizzie”), born c. 1841. Lizzie married Enoch Johnson, the son of Robert Henry
Johnson of the Middle Creek Johnson Family in Greene County. It is said that Lizzie and Enoch had nine
children, but only two survived childhood: (1) Frances Louisa, born 11-3-1858, died 3-11-1951; and
(2) Lawrence Lemuel, born 8-27-1871, died 1-15-1953. Lizzie died on 4-23-1882 and is buried in an
unmarked grave in the ME Church Cemetery in Macedonia, Illinois. After Lizzie’s death, Enoch remarried
to Mary Ellen Edgington. Enoch is buried next to his first wife, Lizzie. For further information, please
refer to the Enoch and Elizabeth Jane Johnson Family and to the Robert Henry Johnson Family of
Middle Creek in Greene County, Tennessee.
Page 3
CHRISTOPHER AND KATHRYN KERBAUGH JOHNSON
(Continued)
2. James A. (Addison or Albert), born 1-7-1843. James A. Johnson served with his father, Christopher,
with the Illinois 40th Infantry Company A. Twice wounded in battle, he served until the conclusion of the
War. While on veterans leave, James returned to Macedonia, Illinois, where on 3-31-1864, he married
Minerva “Adeline” Carney. James and Adeline had 11 children, 8 of whom survived to adulthood.
These children were: (1) unnamed infant son, born 1866 who died at birth; (2) Plina Catherine, born 9-
17-1867, died 2-1-1964; (3) Nancy Elizabeth, born 12-25-1869, died 3-29-1953; (4) Suphra Jane, born
1871 who died in infancy; (5) an unnamed son, born 1873 who died shortly after his birth; (6) Margaret
Adeline, born 1-8-1874, died 12-10-1954; (7) Nora Frances, born 11-11-1876, died 1924; (8) Della, born
4-11-1879, died 6-9-1959; (9) Ella, born 8-22-1883; died 1931; (10) James Christopher, born 5-6-1884,
died 1960; and (11) Cora Bell, born 11-22-1888, died 5-20-1973, the Grandmother of the author of this
book. James died on 10-21-1927 in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. Adeline, for whom my Mother and I are named,
died on 9-10-1934 in Benton, Illinois. They are buried in the ME Church Cemetery in Macedonia, Illinois.
For further information, please refer to the separate article on the James A. and Adeline Carney
Johnson Family.
3. Zopher Alexander (“Zan”), born 10-23-1845. Upon reaching the age of 18, Zopher also enlisted in
the Union Army. On 12-21-1863, he was mustered into the 13th Illinois Cavalry, Company H. This
Company was raised by Robert Henry Johnson, the father-in-law of Zopher’s sister, Elizabeth Jane. In
January 1864 while at Camp Butler, Zopher contracted measles. He returned home to Macedonia, Illinois,
on furlough. There, on 2-23-1864, he married Sarah Ann Boster, the daughter of Andrew and Rebecca
(Clark) Boster. Zopher returned to the 13th Illinois Cavalry and was mustered out on 8-31-1865. Zopher
and Sarah had 12 children, but only four survived to adulthood. The known children were: (1) Riley
Alexander, born 7-1-1874, died 5-12-1951; (2) Clarence Edgar, born 5-2-1875, died 8-31-1937;
(3) Albert L., born 4-24-1877, died 1-20-1956; (4) James C. (probably, Christopher), born c. 1879, who
died in childhood; and (5) Elmer Elsworth, born 5-6-1882, died 9-30-1938. Zopher Alexander Johnson
died on 9-4-1887 in Macedonia. His wife, Sarah, died on 6-17-1914. Zopher and Sarah and their sons are
buried in the ME Church Cemetery in Macedonia, Illinois. Several of their descendants still reside near
Macedonia, Illinois. For further information, please refer to the separate article on the Zopher
Alexander and Sarah Ann Boster Johnson Family.
4. Phoebe Adeline, born 11-15-1847. After her parents’ death in 1862, Phoebe Adeline and her younger
sister, Sarah Ann, were raised by their sister, Elizabeth Jane. Phoebe Adeline married Calvin Bunton, a
veteran of the 20 Regiment NY State Militia, Company B. Calvin was a coal miner and a farmer. In
1878, Calvin and Phoebe’s house burned, and the Johnson Family Bible was destroyed. Phoebe Adeline
and Calvin had seven children and lived in DuQuoin, Illinois. Their children were: (1) Ida May, born c.
1870; died 6-14-1927; (2) Sarah Jennie, born c. 1871; (3) Effie V., born c. 1874; (4) Arthur Earl, born c.
1878; (5) William Alexander (“Willie”), born 2-25-1879; died 3-24-1961; (6) John, born c. 1884; and
(7) Eva. Phoebe Adeline Johnson Bunton died on 4-30-1923 in DuQuoin, Illinois. She and her husband
are buried at the Oddfellows Cemetery in DuQuoin. For further information, please refer to the
separate article on the Calvin and Phoebe Johnson Bunton Family.
5. Sarah Ann, born 2-25-1858 in Hamilton County, Illinois. Sarah Ann was only four years old at the
time of her parents’ deaths and was raised by her oldest sister, Elizabeth Jane Johnson, the wife of Enoch
Johnson. Sarah Ann married Albert Jasper Cullins on 1-7-1875. Sarah Ann and Albert had five children:
(1) Oscar J., born 11-2-1878, died 4-29-1964 in Missouri; (2) Charles Edgar, born 8-29-1880, died 4-22-
1927 in Seagoville, Texas; (3) Ida Nona, born 6-19-1887; (4) Essie L., born 7-18-1891; and (5) Bessie R.,
born May 1895, died June 1969 in Hope, Arkansas. Shortly after 1900, Sarah Ann and Albert migrated to
Hope, Arkansas. Sarah Ann Johnson Cullins died in Deroan, Hempstead County, Arkansas on 6-30-1929.
She is buried in Mouser Cemetery. For further information, please refer to the separate article on the
Albert and Sarah Ann Johnson Cullins Family.
Page 4
CHRISTOPHER AND KATHRYN KERBAUGH JOHNSON
(Continued)
6. Ellsworth, born c. 1861/62 in Illinois. Baby Ellsworth was a casualty of the Civil War. He died in the
Fall of 1862 and is buried in Memphis, Tennessee, with his Mother. We do not know if the Mother or the
child died first.
After the deaths of Christopher and Kathryn in Memphis, the arduous process of providing for the minor
orphans began. In December 1862, Christopher’s brother, Dr. John Henderson Johnson, petitioned the
Court to be the Guardian of the orphaned children. Dr. John also settled the Estate of his deceased brother.
The bureaucratic process of obtaining a Civil War pension for the minor children required a mountain of
“paperwork”. Providing affidavits were Zopher Johns(t)on Junior, the paternal Grandfather, and Elizabeth
Wampler Kerbaugh, the maternal Grandmother. By the time the process concluded, only the youngest
daughter, Sarah Ann, was still a minor and received a pension. Sarah Ann received $8 a month until she
reached the age of eighteen. What small compensation for the loss of both parents and the destruction of
hearth and home at the tender age of four.
By April 1864, Dr. John Henderson Johnson and his wife, Sarah Graham, and their children left Illinois and
traveled to Mercer County, Missouri. Sarah’s Mother (or possibly stepmother) Rebecca Johnson Graham
(“Grimes”) the widow of John Graham, had left Greene County, Tennessee shortly after 1850. By 1855,
Rebecca Graham (“Grimes”) lived in Sullivan County, Missouri and had remarried to James Simpson, also
from Greene County, Tennessee. Mercer County is an adjacent county to Sullivan, and I believe this is the
reason Dr. John and his Family went to Missouri. Dr. John’s Family did not stay in Missouri, and they had
returned to southern Illinois by 1869. For further information on Dr. John’s family, please refer to the
separate article on the Dr. John Henderson Johnson Family.
The custody of the two minor daughters, Phoebe Adeline and Sarah Ann, was transferred to their oldest
sister, Elizabeth Jane Johnson Johnson and her husband, Enoch Johnson, in April 1864. Upon the death of
Elizabeth Jane in 1882, the Johnson Family Bible was passed to Phoebe Adeline. This Bible was later
destroyed in a house fire. We know this because of the Civil War pension application of Phoebe Adeline’s
brother, James A. Johnson (1843-1927).
The impact on the lives of Christopher and Kathryn’s two youngest daughters can, I believe, be seen from
the naming patterns of their children. Neither Phoebe Adeline nor Sarah Ann named a son, Christopher, or
a daughter, Kathryn. Nor did they name a child after their older sister, Elizabeth Jane, or either of their
brothers, James A. Johnson and Zopher Alexander Johnson. The continuity of traditional naming practices
ceased with the death of the sisters’ parents.
As for my particular branch of the family, that of James A. Johnson (1843-1927), the traditional naming
practices continued and exist today in present-day generations. James’ Mother, Kathryn Kerbaugh
Johnson, was of German descent, and used the Germanic spelling of her name with a “K”. In later years,
the Anglo-Saxon spelling of “Catherine” was adopted. James’ oldest daughter was named Catherine Plina;
his oldest son was named James Christopher. James’ youngest daughter, Cora Bell Johnson Hall (1888-
1973) was my maternal Grandmother. Her father passed the tragic stories of his parents, Christopher and
Kathryn Kerbaugh Johnson, onto his youngest daughter. She, in turn, passed them on to me. And now, by
virtue of this book, I pass them along to future generations to preserve the memory of Christopher Cooper
and Kathryn Kerbaugh Johnson.
Selected information regarding the Illinois 40th Infantry, the Estate of Christopher Cooper Johnson and
Civil War pension affidavits on behalf of his minor children are transcribed and follow on pages 5 through
9.
Page 5
CHRISTOPHER COOPER JOHNSON, ILLINOIS 40TH INFANTRY
The Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, by Frederick H. Dyer gave the following statistics for
the Illinois 40th Infantry:
Organized: Springfield, Illinois
Mustered: 8-10-1861
Major Engagements:
Tennessee:
Pittsburg Landing March 14-17, 1862
Shiloh April 6-7, 1862
Memphis June 1 - November 21, 1862
Chattanooga September 25 - November 22, 1863
Mission Ridge November 25, 1863
Knoxville November 28 - December 9, 1863
Mississippi:
Siege of Corinth April 29 - May 30, 1862
Siege of Vicksburg June 8 - July 4, 1863
Georgia:
Atlanta Campaign May - September 1864
Battle of Atlanta July 22, 1864
Kenesaw Mountain June 10 - July 2, 1864
Siege of Savannah December 10-21, 1864
Washington, D. C. Participated in the Grand Review May 24, 1865
Mustered Out: 7-24-1865
Statistics: Killed and Mortally Wounded Lost to Disease
Officers 6 4
Enlisted 119 117
From Guide to the Battle of Shiloh:
“Report of Col. John A. McDowell, USA, Sixth Iowa Infantry, First Brigade, Fifth Division, Army of
Tennessee:
About 8 o’clock the line was thrown forward to the brow of the hill, and the remaining guns of the Morton
battery brought up to command the several openings to the front, and from this position several shots were
fired on the enemy’s masses, not then formed into line, and the Fortieth Illinois Infantry were ordered
forward and to the left to support the right of the Fourth Brigade, in which position they became warmly
engaged, when the order came to fall back to the Purdy road.”
“Report of Brig. Gen. William T. Sherman, USA, Commanding Fifth Division, Army of the Tennessee:
I directed my several brigades to resume at once their original camps. Several times during the battle
cartridges gave out, but General Grant had thoughtfully kept a supply coming from the rear. When I
appealed to regiments to stand fast, although out of cartridges, I did so because to retire a regiment for any
case has a bad effect on others. I commend the Fortieth Illinois and Thirteenth Missouri for thus holding
their ground under a heavy fire, although their cartridge boxes were empty. I am ordered by General Grant
to give personal credit where it is due and censure where I think it merited.”
Page 6
ESTATE OF CHRISTOPHER COOPER JOHNSON
(Spelling and Punctuation unchanged)
“Petition of John H. Johnson in the matter of the Estate of Christopher C. Johnson deceased, for Letters of
Administration:
The Petition of the undersigned respectfully represents that Christopher C. Johnson late of the County of
Hamilton aforesaid departed this life a Memphis Tenn on or about the 27th day of November AD 1862
having no last will and testament so far as your petitioner knows or believes.
And this Petition further shows that the said Christopher C. Johnson died seized and possessed of Real and
Personal Estate consisting chiefly of his homestead 91 acres, about 25 acres of which is in cultivation
estimated to be worth $400, and the following Personal Estate = 2 head of horses = 2 cows & calves =
some 40 head of hogs = some sheep. &c&c
All of said personal estate being estimated to be worth about Three hundred dollars. That said deceased left
surviving him no widow, and James A. Johnson, Elizabeth A. Johnson, Zopher A., Phoebe C. & Sarah Ann
Johnson his children, as his heirs. That your petition (being Brother of said deceased, and) believing that
said estate should be immediately administered as well for the proper management of said Estate as for the
prompt collection of the assets, by virtue of his right under the Statute, therefore prays that your honor will
grant Letters of Administration to him in the premises, upon his taking the oath prescribed by the Statute
and entering into Bond in such sum and with securities as may be approved by your honor.
J. H. Johnson
State of Illinois, Hamilton County
Being duly sworn, deposes and says, that the facts averred in the above petition are true, according to the
best of his knowledge, information and belief. 19th December 1862”
Transcriber’s comment:
Two of the children’s names were incorrect. Elizabeth “A”. Johnson is Elizabeth Jane Johnson. Phoebe C.
Johnson is Phoebe Adeline Johnson.
GUARDIAN’S PETITION
“Petition of John H. Johnson in the matter of the Estate of Christopher C. Johnson deceased, for Letters of
Guardianship.
To the Hon. James Lane Judge of the County Court of Hamilton County.
The Petition of the undersigned respectfully represents
that Elizabeth J. Johnson is a minor aged === years on the ==== day of ======= A.D. 186=;
that James A. Johnson is a minor aged 20 years on the 7th day of January A.D. 1863;
that Zophar A. Johnson is a minor aged 17 years on the 4th day of August A.D. 1862
that Phoebe A. Johnson is a minor aged 15 years on the 15th day of November A.D. 1862
that Sarah A. Johnson is a minor aged 5 years on the 15th day of January A.D. 1863
that said minors are residents of this County; that they have no father living, or other legal guardian
residing in this State; that said minors are entitled as he is informed and believes to a bounty of $100, and
also a Pension, & wages for the Services of their deceased father = and also some Small amounts of the
Estate of their Said Decd father.
Your Petitioner Prays, that the Court, may fix the amount of a bond to be given by your Petitioner, he being
brother of decd and desires to be appointed guardian of said minors.
Jany 19th 1863 J. H. Johnson”
Transcriber’s comment:
No age and dates were given for Elizabeth J. Johnson because she was not a minor.
Page 7
ESTATE OF CHRISTOPHER COOPER JOHNSON
(continued)
(Spelling and Punctuation unchanged)
“John H Johnson. Adm of Estate of C. C. Johnson
Petition for Sale of Real Estate
March 7 1864
Elizabeth Jane Johnson, James A. Johnson, Zophar A. Johnson, Phoebe A. Johnson & Sarah A. Johnson
To the hon James Lane Presiding Judge
The undersigned having been appointed guardian ad litem for the above named minors Zophar, Phoebe, &
Sarah Johnson would respectfully answer said petitioner, that said Minors are not cognizant of the Matters
& things set forth in said petition, and know nothing of the truth or falsity of the matters and things therein
set forth, and therefore deny all the allegations set forth therein, and pray your honor that the Petitioner be
held to strict proof as to the matters and things set forth in said Petition. And now having fully answered
asks that he may be discharged with his reasonable costs.
T. W. Marshall Guardian ad litem”
“Estate of Christopher C. Johnson Deceased:
CR
By Amount of Sale Bill $282.46
“ “ Notes & a/c Inventoried (Doubtful) 60.00
Total assetts $342.46
DR
To Claims allowed by Court $342.96
“ Estimate of Expenses 50.00
“ “ “ Adm Charges 35.00
“ “ “ Taxes 25.00 $452.96
Ballance against Estate $110.50
The undersigned Adm of said Estate would respectfully report the above statement of the Debit & Credits
of said Estate to be the true situation of the same so far as he is able to judge
John H. Johnson Adm
Per L. Goodridge Atty for Estate All correct T. W. Marshall, Clerk”
GUARDIAN’S PETITION
“State of Illinois, Hamilton County
The people of the State of Illinois to Enoch S. Johnson Greeting:
Whereas, at a regular term of the County Court of said county, held in McLeansboro on the 18th day of
April 1864, in and for said County of Hamilton. Zophar A. Johnson of the age of 18 years on the 23rd day
of October 1863 Phoebe A. Johnson of the age of 17 years on the 15 day of Nov 1863 & Sarah A Johnson
of the age of 6 years, the 25th day of February AD 1864, by and through the said Court have chosen you the
said Enoch S. Johnson for their Guardian. You are therefore hereby appointed Guardian for the said
Zophar A Johnson, Phoebe A Johnson & Sarah A Johnson – of Zophar A Johnson until he shall arrive at
the age of 21 years & of Phoebe A and Sarah A Johnson until they shall arrive at the age of 18 years.
Witness J. W. Marshall Clerk of the County Court of the said county of Hamilton at his office in
McLeansboro This 27th day of April AD 1864.”
Transcriber’s comment:
Enoch S. Johnson was the husband of Elizabeth Jane Johnson, daughter of Christopher Cooper Johnson.
Enoch was the son of Robert Henry Johnson, a son of William and Nancy Morgan Johnson of Middle
Creek.
Page 8
CHRISTOPHER COOPER JOHNSON
CIVIL WAR PENSION APPLICATION AND AFFIDAVITS
(spelling and punctuation unchanged)
“State of Illinois
Hamilton County
On this 7th day of April A.D. 1863, personally appeared before the undersigned Clerk of the County Court
within and for the County of Hamilton and State aforesaid John H. Johnson a resident of Hamilton County
in said State. And whose post office address is Macedonia Illinois aged 33 years who being first duly sworn
according to law doth on oath make the following declaration as Guardian of the minor children of
Christopher C. Johnson in order to obtain the benefits of the provision made by the Act of Congrefs
approved July 14th 1862 granting pensions to minor Children under Sixteen years of age of diceased
Officers and Soldiers, that he is the Guardian of Phoeba Adaline Johnson and Sarah Ann Johnson whose
father was a corporal in Company A commanded by Captain H. W. Hall in the 40th Regiment of Illinois
Volunteers in the war of 1861, and that the said Christopher C. Johnson died at Memphis Tennesse on the
27th day of November 1862 of Chronic Diarhoea, that the mother of the children Phoeba Adaline Johnson
and Sarah Ann Johnson aforesaid died on or about the 4th day of October 1862 at Memphis Tenn, and that
the date of births of his wards are as follows. The said Phoeba Adaline Johnson was born on the 15th day of
November 1847 and that the sd Sarah Ann Johnson was born on the 5th (8th struck through) day of January
1858 he further declares that the parants of his said wards were married at Green County in the State of
Tennessee on the 31st day of December AD 1840, by one Christopher Cooper a Justice of the Peace and
that owing to the Rebellion now rife in said State it is impossible to procure a Certified copy of the Record
of their marriage – and in lieu thereof he offers a private record thereof. And the testimony hereto apended
– and he hereby appoints and constitutes C. C. Carpenter of McLeansboro Ills his Attorney to prosecute this
claim.
John H. Johnson”
Transcriber’s comment:
The date of death of the Mother (Kathryn Kerbaugh Johnson) stated as October 4, 1862 appears to be
incorrect. In her son, James A. Johnson’s affidavit, who was present when she died, Kathryn’s date of
death is given as September 3, 1862.
“State of Illinois
Hamilton County
Be it known that on this the 30th day of April 1863 personally appeared Elizabeth Kerbaugh & Zopher
Johnson residents of said County and State, who after being by me first duly Sworn according to law, on
their oaths declare that they were personally acquainted with Christopher C. Johnson dec’d and who was
late a corporal in Co. A. in the 40th Regiment of Illinois volunteers that they were also personally
acquainted with Katharine Kerbaugh his wife – that they were present when the said Johnson and Katharine
Kerbaugh were married and know them to have been man and wife – and that such fact has never been
doubted or questioned that they are not interested in any way in this claim, and reside as above stated and
further affiants saith – not –
Elizabeth “X” Kerbaugh her mark
Zopher “X” Johnson his mark
Transcriber’s comment:
Elizabeth Kerbaugh is the mother of Kathryn Kerbaugh Johnson, the wife of Christopher Cooper Johnson.
Zopher Johnson is the father of Christopher Cooper Johnson.
Page 9
CHRISTOPHER COOPER JOHNSON
CIVIL WAR PENSION APPLICATION AND AFFIDAVITS
(continued)
“State of Illinois, Hamilton County
On this 1st day of November AD 1865 personally appeared before me an acting Justice of the Peace in and
for said County and state Oliver J. Kelley and James A. Johnson Macedonia P.O. Ills persons of
Respectability and entitled to Credit who after being duly sworn according to law depose and says that they
saw Catharine Johnson dead at Memphis in the state of Tennessee she being the wife of Christopher C.
Johnson, Deceased he being a ---- of Co A 40 Regt of Ills Vols that he the said Christopher C Johnson left
no Widow surviving or miner child or children except the one refered to to wit Sarah A Johnson that said
Catharine Johnson died on the 3rd day of September AD 1862 that we are disinterested in the prosecution of
the above claim in any way whatever.
Oliver J. Kelley
James A. Johnson”
Transcriber’s comment:
James A. Johnson is the son of Christopher Cooper and Kathryn Kerbaugh Johnson.
“State of Illinois, County of Hamilton
On this 7th day of March 1866 personally appeared before the undersigned Justice of Peace in and for said
County and state Zopher Johnson and Elizabeth Kerbough of Macedonia post office address Ills persons of
Respectability and entitled to Credit who after being duly sworn according to law deposes and says that
they were acquainted with Christopher C. Johnson late a private of Co A 40th Regt of Illinois volunteers
that we were acquainted with him and his children in his lifetime that we knew him before marriage to his
first and only wife Katharine Kerbough and up to the time of his volenteering in said Co A Regt and were
acquained with the births and ages of his childrean by being vary often at his house in the state of Tenn.
And after the year 1857 at Hamilton County state of Illinois that we are grand parents of the children of the
said children that I Elizabeth Kerbough was at the birth of the childrean of the said Christopher C. Johnson
or in a day or two there after that I Zopher Johnson was also at the residence of said deceased soldier in a
day or two after the births of each of the said childrean that at the time of the death of the said soldier
refered to wit November (October struck out) 27th 1862 he left only one miner child under sixteen years of
age at his death to wit Sarah A Johnson born February 25th 1858 born at Hamilton County state of Illinois.
I Elizabeth Kerbough living within 2 ½ miles being at the house Christopher C Johnson on same of childs
birth. I Zopher Johnson was living within ¼ mile and there at the residence of the said Christopher C
Johnson within a day or two after the birth of the said Sarah A Johnson the miner refered to and therefore
am certain that our said statement are correct that we are disinterested in any way in the prosecution of said
claim.
Elizabeth “X” Kerbough her mark
Zopher “X” Johnson his mark”
CLAIM FOR MINOR CHILDREN
PENSION No. 25399
“War of 1861
Brief in the case of Sarah A. Johnson
Minor Child of Christopher C. Johnson, Corporal, Co. A 40 Illinois Vols.
Admitted July 16, 1866, to a Pension of $8 per month, commencing Nov 29, 1862, ending Feb 25, 1874,
payable to Enoch S. Johnson, Guardian.”
THE FAMILY OF JAMES A. AND ADELINE CARNEY JOHNSON
OF HAMILTON COUNTY, ILLINOIS
Co-written with Barbara Hall Ross and Emogene Gass Glass
James A. Johnson, born 1-7-1843 in Greeneville, Tennessee, was the son of Christopher Cooper and
Kathryn Kerbaugh Johnson. James was the fifth generation of the Johnson (previously Johnston) families
who lived in northern Greene County near today’s Baileyton Road. This area located near the Roaring
Fork of Lick Creek, is known today as the Hardin’s Chapel Community.
I never knew my great-grandfather, James A. Johnson, who died more than twenty years before I was born.
However, much to my benefit, his youngest child, Cora Bell Johnson Hall (1888-1973), my grandmother,
often lived with my family in Texas when I was a child. My mother, Adeline Hall Holum (1912-1997),
lived with her maternal grandparents when she was a young girl. This close familiarity with my great-
grandparents, originally from East Tennessee, whom I never personally knew, greatly abridged my search
for my Johnson ancestors. I grew up always knowing the family originated in Greene County.
For many years, my Mother and I would take Grandmother back to southern Illinois. We would stay with
Grandmother’s eldest sister, Plina “Lina” Catherine Johnson Vaughn (1867-1964), on a farm a few miles
outside of Mt. Vernon, Illinois. There, I would listen to the stories told about my great-grandparents, James
A. Johnson and his wife, Adeline Carney Johnson. These stories, relayed to me so many years ago, have
been subsequently proven by my research with only minor exceptions. It is now my responsibility to pass
this knowledge on to others, and with pride and affection, I will give a brief history of this Johnson Family
who originated in Greene County, Tennessee.
The Johnsons, along with their kinfolk of Brown, Cooper, Foster, and others, began their migration out of
Greene County in the late 1840’s. By the end of the 1850’s, many of these families had removed to
northern Missouri. In the Fall of 1853, James and his family also left Greene County, Tennessee, bound for
Missouri. It is not known which families were on this wagon train, rumbling away from the safety and
security of their home state into territories foreign and unfamiliar to these families. However, this event
sparked the beginning of a long lifetime of adventures for this young boy of ten years of age.
After many weeks of travel, James and his family stopped in southern Illinois, presumably to visit another
Johnson family who was also from Greene County and had settled in Hamilton County beginning in the
mid 1840’s. They were Hiram Gibbs, Robert Henry and John Kent Johnson, the sons of William and
Nancy Morgan Johnson of Middle Creek. In 1927 when James was 84 years of age, he was interviewed by
the Mt. Vernon, Illinois, Newspaper. He told of his family’s migration to Illinois, and the family’s
intended destination of Missouri. Their journey was delayed because of a death in the family. They did not
continue their migration to Missouri, but remained in Illinois. This was the only branch of these closely
intermarried Greene County, Tennessee families, who settled in southern Illinois. Over time, their past
lives in East Tennessee and their kinfolk in Missouri slowly faded from their collective memories.
My great-grandfather, James A. Johnson, grew to manhood on his family’s farm near Macedonia in
Hamilton County, Illinois. There is “disagreement” over James’ middle name. Some descendants say it
was Addison; however, my Mother who lived with her grandparents when she was a child, always
maintained his middle name was Albert. Lending credence to my Mother’s recollection is that James’
brother, Zopher Alexander Johnson, named a son, Albert (1877-1956). The Reverend Albert Johnson
officiated at James A. Johnson’s funeral in 1927.
Like the many generations before, the Johnson Family was a large, extended and close-knit family, who
lived near each other in great numbers and who migrated together over several generations. James’
paternal grandparents and his maternal grandmother lived in very close proximity, including many aunts,
uncles and cousins. The family was of the Methodist faith, possessing strong core values and American
beliefs. They were hard working people, not well educated in a “book sense”, but possessed of great
resolve and much common sense.
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THE JAMES A. AND ADELINE CARNEY JOHNSON FAMILY
(Continued)
By 1860, the country was being torn apart with talk of secession, and the issue of slave versus free states
was coming to a head. The Johnson, Cooper and Kerbaugh forefathers fought in both the American
Revolution and the War of 1812; thus, the Johnson Family had a solid and firm belief that the Union should
not be dissolved. When President Lincoln issued the Call to Arms, the 40th Infantry Illinois was formed.
James A. Johnson enlisted in Company A on August 12, 1861. Possibly out of concern for his son’s safety,
James’ father, Christopher Cooper Johnson, enlisted two weeks later on August 26.
One tragedy of momentous proportions arising from this great internal Conflict was the manner in which
the Civil War military companies were formed. Troops were recruited from small and localized areas;
thus, many of the men were closely related. They were often fathers and sons and brothers and cousins. In
the event a regiment was engaged in a horrific battle, great numbers of kin would die of wounds and
disease, leaving numerous widows and orphans of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. The Illinois 40th
Infantry was only one such example of this great American tragedy.
In the Spring of 1862, the Illinois 40th participated in its first major engagement at Shiloh (Tennessee).
James was barely 19 years old. On the first day of the engagement, the 40th was positioned on the front
lines. James was injured and left for dead on the battlefield. Once nighttime fell, James made it back to his
Regiment and continued to fight on the second day of battle. The battle of Shiloh was the bloodiest battle
of the War at that date. General Grant would later give special commendation to the men of the Illinois 40th
for holding their lines after their ammunition had been depleted. The courage of these brave men must
never be forgotten.
After the Union victory at Shiloh, the Illinois 40th marched to Memphis, Tennessee. In the summer of
1862, James and his father, Christopher, became ill with dysentery. James’ mother, Kathryn, and her
nursing babe, made the trek from southern Illinois to Memphis. All would die of disease between
September and November of 1862, with the exception of James A. Johnson. James recovered from
dysentery, later telling his children that a small dose of castor oil saved him. He continued to serve with
the Illinois 40th, with many of the engagements occurring in his native state of Tennessee. James was once
again injured at the battle of Mission Ridge. He was shot in the foot, and from the age of 20 he walked
with a limp the remainder of his long and productive life.
The soldiers had enlisted for a period of three years. In March of 1864 the veterans were granted a
furlough, and James returned to Macedonia, Illinois. There, on 3-31-1864, he married Minerva “Adeline”
Carney. Adeline, born on 5-12-1846 in Harmony County, Indiana, was the daughter of Andrew Jackson
“Jack” Carney and his wife, “Plina” Clark. (The Carney surname is sometimes spelled as Kearney.) Plina
Clark Carney died when Adeline was about three or four years of age, and Adeline was raised by “Aunt”
Rhoda Bolen Carlton (1828-1900, buried Macedonia Church Cemetery) and Richard Carlton (1829-1873).
Perhaps because Adeline had also been orphaned at an early age, she and James developed a long and
lasting love. They were married for over 63 years.
After James’ brief furlough ended, he left his young bride and rejoined the Illinois 40th. He was at the siege
of Vicksburg. James A. Johnson’s name is inscribed on the beautiful Illinois Monument at the Vicksburg
Battlefield. After Vicksburg, the Illinois 40th went on to the Atlanta Campaign. It was during the Atlanta
Campaign where so many of his Brown Cousins from Greeneville, Tennessee, fought and died with the 8th
Tennessee Infantry, Company D (Union). One wonders if these cousins, by chance, met once again on the
bloody Battlefield.
After the Fall of Atlanta, James decided not to continue with Sherman’s troops on their “March to the Sea”.
James A. Johnson was mustered out at Atlanta, Georgia, on 8-15-1864. Perhaps because James was from
the South, he possibly disagreed with Sherman’s “pillage and burn” strategy. Being a man of principle and
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THE JAMES A. AND ADELINE CARNEY JOHNSON FAMILY
(Continued)
courage, James refused to participate in the complete and devastating destruction of the home of his
ancestors. Yet, he believed in preserving the Union, and he desired to serve his Country until the War’s
conclusion. James joined the Illinois 49th, and he served until the end of the Civil War.
After the War’s end, James returned to the small village of Macedonia, Illinois, where he was a farmer and
a blacksmith. James and Adeline had 11 children, 8 of whom survived to adulthood. James and his
brother, Zopher, helped to build the Macedonia Methodist Church, and James bought the bell that hangs in
the Church tower to this day. The bell seldom tolls now, except for the occasional funeral. The once
thriving little town of Macedonia, Illinois, is now largely abandoned. Only a few houses stand.
In 1900, after being in Macedonia, Illinois, for almost 50 years, James and Adeline and their younger
children left Hamilton County and settled 30 miles north on a farm near Mt. Vernon in Jefferson County.
A few years later, the elderly couple moved into town. There, on October 21, 1927, James A. Johnson
went home to his Maker. His wife, Adeline Carney Johnson, followed him in death on September 10,
1934. They are both buried in Macedonia in the cemetery of the Church James helped to build so many
years ago. The children of James and Adeline Carney Johnson were:
1. unnamed infant son, born in 1866 who died at birth.
2. Plina (“Lina”) Catherine, born 9-17-1867. Lina was named after both of her Grandmothers, Plina
Clark Carney and Kathryn Kerbaugh Johnson. Lina married John William Vaughn on 9-13-1883. They
lived in Franklin County at the time of the 1910 Census. In this Census, Lina stated she had seven children,
of whom three were living. By 1920, Lina and John Vaughn had moved to the Mt. Vernon area in
Jefferson County, where they farmed near the small town of Texico. Among their children were three sets
of twins. Lina Johnson Vaughn died in Jefferson County, Illinois, on 2-1-1964 and is buried at the
Macedonia Church Cemetery beside her parents and her three known children. Also buried in this
Cemetery are four Vaughn infants, who are not named. Two living descendants of John and Lina Vaughn
are known to me; one lives in Nevada. Plina and John’s children were: (1) James Gluver Vaughn (born
6-11-1884; died 2-21-1966). Gluver was quite the “ladies man”. He married in 1910, and the census page
gives her name as Kattie. They had one daughter, Carolyn, born after 1910. Gluver left Illinois. He was a
dentist in Little Rock, Arkansas. As I recall, I believe Gluver’s second wife was named Evelyn, but this
may be incorrect. (2) Gage L. Vaughn (born 10-8-1898; died 4-28-1972). Gage married Beatrice
Whitson, and they lived in Mt. Vernon where he was a school principal. They had one daughter, Maxine
Vaughn, who married Mutt Glass, her second cousin. Maxine Vaughn Glass Ward at one time lived in Las
Vegas, Nevada. Gage remarried to Iris L. Brown (1905-2002) in 1945, a school teacher in Mt. Vernon.
(3) Della A. (Adeline??) Vaughn Hagan (born 2-18-1902; died 1991). Della’s tombstone gives her year
of birth as 1907, but based on census enumerations, she was born in 1902. Della, who called herself
“Adella”, married Arthur Hagen. She later married Gus Whitson, and they lived on the Whitson farm near
Texico. In later years, Della was a psychic and told fortunes. She apparently had quite a “following”, even
making the Mt. Vernon newspaper. Della did not have children. Della took care of her elderly Mother, and
they lived on the Whitson farm. It is with Della and her mother, Lina Johnson Vaughn, with whom I spent
so many summers on the Whitson farm as a child. One particular memory stands out in my mind, which
was the adventure of “frog gigging”. On one of our trips, my Uncle George Hall (the father of my co-
author, Barbara Hall Ross) came over to visit. Uncle George, Della and I went “frog gigging” late that
night. The “fruits” (frogs) of our labor were taken home, the legs chopped-off and put in a frying pan,
where they proceeded to “hop around”. This must be one of the most disgusting memories of my
childhood, and I am certain that Uncle George was immensely amused by my disgust. The last memory I
have of my great-Aunt Lina Vaughn was about this time, 1962. In her mid 90’s, she was standing in the
front yard of the farm, her apron folded into the shape of a basket feeding the chickens. At her advanced
age, she walked unassisted, had clarity of mind and good sight and hearing. She died at the age of 97.
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THE JAMES A. AND ADELINE CARNEY JOHNSON FAMILY
(Continued)
3. Nancy Elizabeth, born 12-25-1869. “Lizzie” married Lonzo “Lon” Allen Glass (1866-1919) on 8-13-
1885. Lizzie and Lon lived in Mt. Vernon where they raised seven children. Lizzie Johnson Glass died on
3-29-1953 and is buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. Many descendants still live in Mt.
Vernon. Their children included: (1) Eva Bell, who married Kenneth Metcalf. They had one daughter,
Mary Evelyn. (2) Ethel Peoria, who married Robert L. Beal. They raised four daughters, Florist, Juanita,
Eleanor and Catherine, in Mt. Vernon. The daughter, Florist Beal Moore lives in Mt. Vernon, a beautiful
and sprightly lady at age 90. (3) Elsie Lena, who married Claude S. Sims and lived in Mt. Vernon and
later in Arkansas. (4) Nelson Henry, who married and lived in California. (5) Edna Lonny, born 11-21-
1898. Edna married Vance Estill. They lived in Belleview, Illinois, and did not have children. I remember
them both well. Edna took me on my first boat ride on the Mississippi River when I was about age ten.
Edna Glass Estill, a beautiful, kind and refined lady, died on 10-27-2000 at the age of 102. (6) Blanch,
who was deceased by 1919; and (7) Martha Elizabeth, who married John Marios and lived in California.
4. Suphra Jane, born in 1871, who died in infancy. This daughter was probably named for James A.
Johnson’s paternal grandfather, Zopher Johnson Junior, and James’ paternal great-grandmother, Jane
Brown Cooper.
5. an unnamed son, born in 1873 who died at birth.
6. Margaret Adeline, born 1-8-1874. “Mag” married John Collins Glass (1873-1914) on 1-1-1890. They
lived in Hamilton County, Illinois, where John was a mail carrier. After the untimely death of her husband,
Mag was left to raise her nine children on her own. She moved into the town of Benton (Franklin County),
and at one time, operated a boarding house. In addition to her own brood, my mother (Adeline Hall
Holum) and Aunt Jean also lived at Mag’s home for awhile. Mother spoke very lovingly of her Aunt Mag,
referring to her as an “angel”. In her later years, Mag remarried to John Hedger, a school teacher in
Benton. Margaret Adeline Johnson Glass died on 12-10-1954 in California. She is buried at Antioch
Cemetery near Benton, Illinois. A few of John and Mag’s descendants still live near the original Johnson
homestead in Hamilton County, Illinois. Several descendants live in California. The children of John and
Margaret Adeline Johnson Glass were: (1) Jesse James, born 10-17-1891; died 11-11-1951. He married,
but no children are known to me. He is buried in the Macedonia ME Church Cemetery. (2) Essie Lena,
born 11-10-1894; died 5-26-1983. Essie first married Tirie Nealy. She remarried to Edwin Jackson
Meister. They had one daughter, Phyllis. Essie Glass Meister died in California. (3) Cloyd Minor, born
7-22-1896; died 9-21-1976, who married Dollie Darnell. They lived near Benton and Macedonia where
they raised four children. Cloyd Glass is buried at Antioch Cemetery near his parents. The children of
Cloyd and Dollie Glass were Eugene Darnell, Lucille, John Ambrose and Vernon Lee Glass. Vernon and
his wife, Emogene Faye Gass, live very near the original Johnson homestead farm in Macedonia. They
have three children. Their son, Randall Lee Glass, lives in McCleansboro, Illinois. Their son, Bradley
Dale Glass lives in Little Rock, Arkansas. Their daughter, Elaine Leanne Glass Moore lives in Marion,
Illinois. Emogene Gass Glass has greatly contributed to the research of our Illinois Johnson and Gass
families. Emogene is a direct descendant of the “orphaned” little George W. Gass, born in 1844 in
Greeneville, Tennessee, who came to Illinois with Zopher (Junior) and Phebe Cooper Johnson’s Family in
1853. (4) Clarence E. “Mutt”, born 3-2-1898; died 7-1-1940. “Mutt” married twice, but did not have
children. He was shot and died “in the arms” of his elderly, Mother. Mutt is buried at Antioch Cemetery.
(5) Delrea, who married Clarence Martin. They had one child, Bobby. Delrea married a second time to
Mr. Dreher, and they lived in Detroit, Michigan. (6) Orrene Edna, born 4-11-1904; died 1980. Orrene
first married Stanton Roy Nelson, then John Del Gado. They lived in California. Orrene did not have
children. (7) Stewart Clinton, born 5-10-1905; died 3-5-1976, who married Edith Schrum. They lived in
California and did not have children. (8) Christina Belle, born 12-2-1912; died 1983. She married
George Claxton, and they lived in California. One daughter, Jo Ann, is known. (9) Marie Adeline, born
2-12-1914; died 1-11-1982. Marie married several times. Her last husband was Raleigh “Paul” Lampley.
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THE JAMES A. AND ADELINE CARNEY JOHNSON FAMILY
(Continued)
Marie and Paul lived in El Campo, Texas. I do not believe they had children. I have fond memories of
Marie Glass Lampley from my childhood. As my child’s memory recalls, she was a jovial, red-haired lady.
She once gave me a baby black rabbit to play with during one of our visits. Little did I comprehend at the
time, that this little black ball of fur probably ended up on the dinner table.
7. Nora Frances, born 11-11-1876. Nora married Oscar S. Williams (1876-1963). They lived in Mt.
Vernon, Illinois. Nora Johnson Williams died in 1924 and is buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Mt. Vernon.
Descendants of this family reside in Illinois. Oscar and Nora had three sons: (1) Aubrey, born 10-4-1901,
lived in Woodlawn, Illinois, with his family. Aubrey Williams died in 1982. (2) Johnson, born 7-17-1904,
lived in Aurora, Illinois, with his family. Johnson Williams died in 1982. (3) August Glenn, born 7-11-
1906. August married Mabel Moss and then Beulah McDaniel. August lived in Mt. Vernon where he died
on 1-21-1994. He did not have children. Unfortunately, my childhood memories of the Williams brothers
are hazy. I remember well two of the Williams brothers. August was very talented musically. He could
play the piano “by ear”, and could play just about anything with a “good rhythm”. The other brother I
remember was Aubrey. He had a daughter, whose name no longer comes to the forefront of my memory,
but I believe her name may have been Lois, who was deaf. Lois was married and had two sons about my
age, both very handsome as I recall. I do not remember ever meeting Johnson Williams. The Williams
brothers I do remember were very charming -- tall, slim and very good personalities. My Grandmother was
very fond of them.
8. Ida Della, born 4-11-1879. Della married William “Stewart” Broyles (1873-1957) on 5-8-1895, and
they lived in Hamilton County. After 1910, Della and Stewart moved to Mt. Vernon where they raised two
children. An amusing family “story” about Della is that she was extremely “private” about her age. She
would never tell anyone how old she was! (Sorry Aunt Della, your “secret” is out.) Della died from an
accident in her home. At the age of 80 she was painting her bathroom, when she fell and struck her head
on the bathtub. She died on 6-9-1959 and is buried at Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Mt. Vernon. Stewart
and Della Johnson Broyles had two children: (1) Paul William Broyles, born 2-3-1896. Paul married
Olivia K. Bersche. They lived in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. They had one daughter, June. Paul Broyles was a
State Senator for many years. My Grandmother was always very proud of her nephew. Paul died in 1974
and is buried with his wife and daughter at Memorial Gardens in Mt. Vernon. Their daughter, June,
married John Casey, and they lived in Montana. After her husband’s death, June returned to Mt. Vernon.
John and June Broyles Casey have two sons, Jack and Paul Casey, who live in Washington State. I met
Jack and Paul Casey only once at the home of their Aunt Hazel Broyles Morgan about 1963. (2) Hazel M.
Broyles, born 7-19-1909. Hazel married Ray Prosser. They had one daughter, JoAnn (“Joan”). Hazel
remarried to Carl Morgan, and they lived in Mt. Vernon. I remember their backyard being “just like a
park”, a phrase my Mother often used. After Carl’s death in 1981, Hazel lived with her daughter in
California for a number of years. Hazel Broyles Morgan died at the age of 92 on 2-5-2001 in Palm Desert,
California. She is buried at Memorial Gardens in Mt. Vernon with her brother and their parents. I have
fond memories of Hazel, who was my Mother’s favorite cousin. After many years of separation, Mother
and Hazel had one, last visit in the 1990s. Both elderly women were in their eighties. My sister’s family
was vacationing in California, and my Mother went along. Mother and Hazel spent two nights together, no
doubt reliving many girlhood memories of Illinois. Hazel’s daughter, Joan, lives in California.
9. Ella, born 8-22-1883. Ella married Wayne Osborne. They lived in East St. Louis. Their known
children were: (1) Milbourne. Milbourne married and had one son, Jack, who died in childhood.
Milbourne lived in Ft. Worth, Texas, and remarried but did not have children with his second wife, Clara.
(2) Adeline (pronounced as “Adeleen”), who married Wayne Moss. Wayne and Adeline had two children,
Phyliss and Judy. The younger daughter, Judy, who was about my age, died in childhood of whooping
cough. A number of years ago, the older daughter, Phyliss, lived in New Jersey. Ella Johnson Osborne
remarried to a Doctor Miller and lived in Gary, Indiana. Ella died in Indiana in February 1931.
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THE JAMES A. AND ADELINE CARNEY JOHNSON FAMILY
(Continued)
10. James Christopher, born 5-6-1884. Chris was named for his paternal grandfather, Christopher
Cooper Johnson, who died in 1862 during the Civil War. Chris, being the only son of eight children was
greatly loved by his sisters. Chris married Myrtle “Daisy” Smith. They lived in Mt. Vernon where Chris
was a storekeeper and a sheriff of Jefferson County. Chris died in 1960 and is buried at Union Chapel
Cemetery near Mt. Vernon, Illinois. Chris and Daisy had two sons: (1) Clayton, born 9-10-1904. Clayton
owned the Johnson Motor Car Company in Mt. Vernon. Clayton’s first wife was Imo L. Mattix, who died
in 1925. Clayton remarried in 1948 to Minnie Myrt Smith. They had one daughter, Betty Johnson Hayse.
Clayton died at the age of 89 on 5-6-1993 and is buried in Memorial Gardens in Mt. Vernon. (2) Clifford,
born 7-3-1907. Clifford married Ruth M. Carpenter. They lived in Mt. Vernon where he operated the
Johnson Grocery Store. Clifford died on 8-17-1987 and is buried at Union Chapel. Clifford and Ruth had
two children, a son, Jack, lives in Mt. Vernon, and a daughter, Judy (1932-1987).
11. Cora Bell, born 11-22-1888. Cora Bell Johnson was my maternal Grandmother. Called “Corey” by
her family, she did not like this name, and was married using the name “Corine”. She married my
grandfather, George Noon Hall, in 1909 in Wichita, Kansas. George joined the U. S. Cavalry and later the
Army. He was away from his family much of the time during the early years. George and Cora had five
children. George Noon Hall died on 5-21-1957 in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. After George’s death, Cora spent
time with her children, and often lived with my family in Texas. Cora Bell Johnson Hall died on 5-20-1973
in Tucson, Arizona where she lived with her oldest daughter, Genevieve Hall Lester (1910-1973). Cora
Bell and her husband, George Hall, are buried at Union Chapel Cemetery near Mt. Vernon, Illinois. The
children of George and Cora Bell Johnson Hall, are: (1) Genevieve Mildred “Jean” Hall, born 7-25-1910
in Wichita, Kansas. Jean married Orvel Mullins on 6-9-1930 in Dubuque, Iowa. They lived in Dallas,
Texas, and have two daughters Diane, who married Paul Harden; and Barbara Jean, who first married
Ralph Henslee then David Cowling and lives in Corpus Christi, Texas. In later years, Genevieve remarried
to Harry Lester. They lived in Tucson, Arizona, where Jean died on 11-8-1973. Jean is buried in
Evergreen Cemetery in Tucson. (2) Georgia “Adeline” Hall, born 6-30-1912 in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, my
Mother. Adeline married Stephen “Steve” Holum on 7-1-1933 in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Steve
Holum was of Norwegian descent. Both of his parents came from Norway and homesteaded in North
Dakota. Adeline and Steve made their home in Ft. Worth, Texas for many years. They have two
daughters, myself, Stephena “Stevie” Adeline Holum Hughes, who lives in Ft. Worth, Texas; and my sister,
Virginia Hannah Holum Scott, who lives in Midland, Texas. After many years in Texas, Steve and
Adeline moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. Steve Holum died on 7-13-1985. Adeline Hall Holum died on 4-
20-1997 in Midland, Texas. They are buried in the Lesja Lutheran Church Cemetery in Roth, North
Dakota, with Steve’s parents, Erland Hansen and Hannah Klokstad Holum. (3) Lorene (“Lorean”) Hall,
born on 7-1-1916 in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. Lorene died of spinal meningitis on 4-1-1918 in E. St. Louis.
She is buried with her parents at Union Chapel cemetery near Mt. Vernon. Only one picture is known to
exist of little Lorene. She is a young toddler, with blond curly hair, sitting on a swing hung from a tree.
Her older sisters, Genevieve and Adeline, are with her. The information for her death certificate was given
by Wayne Osborne. (4) Joseph “Jim” Stephen Hall, born 10-13-1920 in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Jim
married Vera and they lived in Oregon, having a son, Stephen, and a daughter, Donna Lee. Jim later
returned to Illinois where he remarried and lived for many years in Granite City. He now resides in Texas
with his stepdaughter, Mrs. Tom (JoAnn) Gunning. (5) George Noon Hall Junior, born 10-15-1922 in St.
Louis, Missouri. George Junior married Evelo Deck on 12-2-1939. They have a daughter, Barbara Hall
Ross, who lives in Robinson, Illinois. George Junior remarried to Norma “Jean” Ward on 10-14-1949.
They have two daughters, Vicky Lynn Hall Houser and Sherry Renee Hall. George Junior and Jean raised
their daughters in Centralia, Illinois. Norma Jean died on 4-4-2000 and is buried at Union Chapel in Mt.
Vernon. George Junior and his two younger daughters reside in Centralia.
Additional information on my Grandparents, George Noon and Cora Bell Johnson Hall, their
children and descendants is found in the “Introduction” section of this book.
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THE JAMES A. AND ADELINE CARNEY JOHNSON FAMILY
(Continued)
The names of the children of James A. and Adeline Carney Johnson, and their dates of birth, are
documented in the Pension File of James A. Johnson, a soldier of the Illinois 40th Infantry Company A.
James A. Johnson filed for a Civil War pension on 8-25-1890. Selected Affidavits from his pension file
from the National Archives are transcribed on page 9. After his death in 1927, James’ widow, Adeline
Carney Johnson, filed for pension Certificate Number1601441. Adeline drew a pension of $47.50 per
month until her death in 1934.
James A. and his brother, Zopher Alexander, had farms in Section 30 of the Knights Prairie Township.
Deeds between the two brothers included:
3-25-1873:
“Zopher A. Johnson and Sarah A. Johnson his wife to James A. Johnson in consideration of
$500: the NE Quarter of the SW Quarter of Section Thirty (30) Township Five (5), Range Five
(5) East containing forty-six acres and 24/100 more or less.”
This land appears to be either part of or adjacent to their Father’s land of 45.69 acres purchased on 10-10-
1854 with the description of Section 30, NESW.
11-27-1879:
“James A. Johnson and Minerva A. Johnson his wife, in consideration of $125 to Zopher A.
Johnson, Knights Prairie Precinct, County of Hamilton: the South half of the SW Quarter
of the SW Quarter of Section Thirty (30) in Township Five (5) South Range Five East
containing twenty acres more or less.”
It will never be known why, after almost fifty years in Hamilton County, James and Adeline decided to sell
their farm in 1899 and move thirty miles to Mt. Vernon in Jefferson County, Illinois. Their older children
were married by this time and continued to live in Hamilton County until after 1910 when several then also
moved to Jefferson County.
On 5-5-1899, James A. and Adeline Johnson released their farm by Quit Claim Deed to James’ nephew,
Elmer Johnson, a son of Zopher Alexander Johnson. The acreage is not stated on the document, but the
description of the land was:
5-5-1899:
“Town of Macedonia; County of Hamilton; The SW fourth of the SW quarter
of section 30 in Township five (5) South, in Range five (5) East of the 3rd P.M.”
All of the above deeds appear to be either part of or adjacent to the original homestead land purchased by
Christopher Cooper Johnson or his Father, Zopher Johnson Junior, in 1853 and 1854:
Land purchased by Christopher Cooper Johnson:
12-15-1853 Hamilton County, Section 30, Township 05S, Range 05E, Meridian 3:
45.64 acres, SENW, $1.25 price per acre
10-10-1854 Hamilton County, Section 30, Township 05S, Range 05E, Meridian 3:
45.69 acres, NESW (for a total 91.33 acres by 1854)
Land purchased by Christopher’s father, Zopher Johnson Junior:
12-15-1853 Hamilton County, Section 30, Township 05S, Range 05E, Meridian 3:
45.7 acres SWNW and 45.7 acres NWSW, (total 91.4 acres) $1.25 price per acre
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THE JAMES A. AND ADELINE CARNEY JOHNSON FAMILY
(Continued)
Christopher’s land was listed as sold for $300 in his Estate Settlement. (The value of Christopher’s land in
the 1860 census was $600.) The Administrator was Christopher’s brother, John Henderson Johnson. The
acreage sold was 91.38 acres with the description of “NESW section 30 T5 R5 and SENW Section 30
T5R5”. We do not know who purchased Christopher’s farm. Part of Zopher Junior’s land located in the
SWNW of Section 30 containing 45.7 acres was released by Quit Claim deed in May 1880 signed by his
heirs, including James A. Johnson and his wife.
In 1905, the first Plat Map of Hamilton County shows most of the land purchased in 1853 by Christopher
Cooper Johnson and his Father, Zopher Johnson Junior, was owned by Cornelius C. Boster (1863-1945), a
brother of Sarah Ann Boster, the wife of James A. Johnson’s brother, Zopher Alexander. The 1905 Plat
Map of Section 30 is included in Appendix 5. By 1974, the Vise Brothers owned the land in Section 30.
The land transactions in Section 30 of Hamilton County indicate that Christopher’s land was sold as part of
the Estate settlement and Zopher Junior’s land was at least partially transferred to John Henderson Johnson
and later released by Quit Claim Deed in 1880. Yet, both Christopher’s sons, James A. and Zopher
Alexander Johnson, owned land in Section 30. James and Zopher Alexander may not have owned the
original homestead farms, but their land was very close to it.
When James A. Johnson sold his Macedonia farm to his nephew, Elmer Elsworth Johnson (1882-1938) in
1899 the land remained in the Family. At some point, the farm was later owned by James M. Moore.
James Madison Moore (1867-1956) was the husband of Winnie May Johnson (1872-1950), a daughter of
John Henderson Johnson, the Uncle of James A. Johnson. Hence, the James A. Johnson farm continued to
be owned by family members well into the late 20th Century.
About 1962, my Grandmother, Cora Bell Johnson Hall (1888-1973) took me to see the farmhouse in
Macedonia, Illinois where she was born. She told me her father, James A. Johnson, had built this beautiful,
white two-story house, and she was born in the front room of the first floor. At that time, she told me the
farm was still in the family ….. “some-way.” We did not go inside, nor even knock on the door. We sat
in the car in the driveway admiring the lovely home that had been the home of Civil War soldier, James A.
Johnson, and his family of eleven children.
Over forty years would pass before I visited the farm again. In the summer of 2004, my sister and I and our
cousin, Barbara Hall Ross, went to see the Farm. The beautiful home had been torn down. Nothing
remained but an overgrown path to where the house once stood. As my Mother would say, “Time changes
all things.” How I so much wish I could have gone inside the home back in 1962. The James A. Johnson
farm in Macedonia has now passed out of the hands of family members.
As young girls, my Mother, Adeline Hall Holum (1912-1997) and her sister, Genevieve Hall Lester (1910-
1973), lived with the elderly James and Adeline Carney Johnson in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. They were
affectionately called “Grandpa and Grandma Johnson”. No picture exists of Grandma Johnson as a young
woman, although she was probably quite beautiful. My Grandmother, Cora Bell, strongly resembled her
Mother, and Cora Bell was beautiful, a quintessential “Gibson Girl” in her youth. Grandma Johnson in her
older years had a quite serious problem with varicose veins. As young children, my Mother and Aunt Jean
were instructed on what to do should one of these veins burst. One day this happened. My Aunt Jean
placed a silver dollar over the ruptured vein and bound it tightly. My Mother “ran like the wind” to get the
Doctor. The “old time” method worked and Grandma Johnson’s life was saved. When Grandma Johnson
died in 1934, she was survived by 6 children, 30 grandchildren and 32 great-grandchildren.
As of this writing, only two grandchildren of James A. and Adeline Carney Johnson are still living. They
are octogenarian brothers, George and Jim Hall, my Uncles.
Page 9
JAMES A. JOHNSON CIVIL WAR PENSION
CERTIFICATE NUMBER 89673
(Spelling and punctuation unchanged)
AFFIDAVIT BY AARON BURLISON, A VETERAN OF IL 40TH COMPANY A
“State of Illinois Franklin County
In the claim No 89673 of James A. Johnson personally appeared Aaron Burlison aged 47 years, a resident
of Akin in Franklin County Illinois who being duly sworn makes the following statement, that he
remembers at the battle of Shilo on or about the 6 of April 1862 Said Johnson was left on the battlefield
when the regt fell back and remained thir some time affiant surposed claimant was ded affiant would state
further when claimant returned to the regt the claimant he was Sunstroke and look bad affiant would state
on Sunday eavening the Claiment returned to the regt wher the regt was surporting the battery in front of it
whilst they were firing over them Claiment claimed he was injured by the gears of said battery affiant
would state he remembers Claiment complaining of the Chronic diarrhea also I have no inters in the
prosecution of this Claim for Pension my post office is Akin Ills
Aaron Burlison
Co. A. 40th Reg. Ills”
AFFIDAVIT BY BENJAMIN W. HARRELSON, A VETERAN OF IL 40TH
COMPANY A
“State of Illinois Hamilton County
Personally appeared before the undersigned Justice of the Peace in and for said County and State –
Benjamin W. Harrelson who being by me first duly sworn on his oath says he is the identical Benjamin W.
Harrelson who was late Captain of Co “A” 40th Regiment Illinois vols Infty. And that James A Johnson late
a private in said company while in the service of the United States and in the line of his duty while engaged
in making an assault on the enemies works on Mission Ridge near Chattanooga Tennessee on the 25th day
of November AD 1863 received a gunshot would in the right heel fracturing the bones and so disabling him
that he was never able to discharge the duties of a Soldier in front any more during the remainder of his
term of Enlistment which expired on or about the 15th Aug 1864 but was after he returned from the
hospittle detailed to guard baggage at Chattanooga. He further states that he has been acquainted with
James A. Johnson aforesaid ever since he left the service and that he is a sober industrous temper man and
that the wound received as above stated still injuries him. He further states that he resides in Macedonia Ill
and has no interest whatever in the claim of said James A. Johnson for Pension.
Benjamin W. Harrelson”
AFFIDAVIT BY ADALINE BUNTON
(SISTER OF JAMES A. JOHNSON)
“First Bank and Trust Company Du Quoin, Illinois
Oct. 13th, 1914
Adaline Buntan, being duly sworn, declares that on July 1878 the Family Bible containing the record of the
birth of James A. Johnson, was destroyed by fire with the other contents of her home which was also
destroyed at the same time.
Adaline Bunton
State of Illinois Perry County
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 13th day of October, A.D. 1914.
L. S. Smith
Notary Public”
Page 10
JAMES A. AND ADELINE CARNEY JOHNSON
1927 NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
Because he was one of the last living Civil War soldiers, James A. Johnson, was quite a well-known person
in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. In 1927, James and Adeline celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary. The Mt.
Vernon Newspaper interviewed the couple. The article is transcribed below. James would die later that
year, and was probably ill at the time of the interview. From his pension papers, we know he was
wheelchair bound and quite deaf at this time. It is likely some of the information was relayed by one of his
children. There are errors in the article, but for the most part, the information is accurate.
“Well Known Old Couple Have Been Married For 63 Years
Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Johnson, a well known old couple, have been married sixty-three years this month.
They were married in Hamilton county in March, 1864. They resided in Hamilton county until 1900, when
they moved to Jefferson county, buying a farm near Texico and living there until they retired five years and
moved to Mt. Vernon. Their home is on the Salem road a short distance north of the city.
Mr. Johnson is a veteran of the Civil war serving from 1861 to 1865. Mr. Johnson with his parents came
from Greenville, Tenn., when he was 12 years old (see note 1). The party was enroute to Northern
Missouri. Death overtook the party when his grandmother (see note 1) died in 1865 (see note 2) while the
party was near the settlement of Macedonia in Hamilton county. The delay caused by his (see note 1) death
caused the party to abandon the project of going to Missouri and to settle in Hamilton County.
Mr. Johnson’s father, Chris Johnson was born in Georgia (see note 3) and came to Tennessee with his
family in 1831 (see note 3). At that time the name was Johnston but when the family came north the
shorter spelling of the name was adopted. Mr. Johnson enlisted in the union army with his father. They
served in the army together until the death of the father, who died while in camp. While he was home from
the army on a furlough granted because of wounds Mr. Johnson met and married Miss Adeline Kearney of
Macedonia, Ill.
For thirty years the family of eight children (see note 4), the grand children, great grand children and
friends have gathered to observe the wedding anniversary.”
Notes on corrections:
1. James was ten years old at the time of migration in 1853. Both of his grandmothers were alive.
His maternal grandmother was Elizabeth Wampler Kerbaugh, who was still alive as late as 1866.
She was still in Tennessee as late as 1856 and came to Illinois after that date. James’ paternal
grandmother was Phebe Cooper Johnson, who died in Illinois in 1862. In the next sentence, the
pronoun of “his” is used to refer to the “grandmother”. James’ maternal grandfather, John
Kerbaugh, died in Tennessee in 1855. James paternal grandfather was Zopher Johnson Junior
who died in 1866.
2. The date of migration of “1865” is clearly wrong. It is possible this is a typographical error by the
Newspaper and the date of 1855 was given. Even if this was the case, the date would still be
incorrect because the Family bought their land in December 1853 and are in the 1855 Illinois State
census.
3. James father, Christopher Cooper Johnson, born c. 1822, was born in Greene County, Tennessee
as was his father, Zopher Johns(t)on Junior, born in 1790.
4. James A. and Adeline Carney Johnson had 11 children, who are identified in his Pension
application. Three of the children died in infancy.
ZOPHER ALEXANDER AND SARAH BOSTER JOHNSON
OF HAMILTON COUNTY, ILLINOIS
Co-written with Eldora Phillips, Dick Johnson and Phil Johnson
Zopher Alexander Johnson was born in Greene County, Tennessee on 8-22-1845. He was the second born
son of Christopher Cooper and Kathryn Kerbaugh Johnson. Zopher Alexander was the fourth generation in
Greene County to carry the name of the Johns(t)on Family Patriarch. His grandfather was Zopher Johnson
Junior (1790 TN – 1866 IL), the son of Zopher Johns(t)on Senior (1762 PA – c. 1835 TN), a Revolutionary
War soldier, who was the son of Zopher Johnston “the Elder”, who brought his family from Virginia to
Greene County, Tennessee in 1790.
As a boy of eight years of age, Zopher Alexander came with his parents to Hamilton County, Illinois. The
family settled in the Knights Prairie Township near the small village of Macedonia. Zopher Alexander
was called “Zan”, and as a young man he worked on the farm of his parents and attended school.
Zan came to manhood during the turbulent times of the Civil War. His Father, Christopher, and his older
brother, James A. Johnson, enlisted with the Illinois 40th Infantry, Company A in 1861 at the outbreak of
the War. When Zan turned 18, he too enlisted. Zan joined the 13th Illinois Cavalry, Company H. on 1-20-
1864. Zan and Robert H. Johnson (1847-1925), enlisted on the same day. Robert H. Johnson was the son
of John Kent Johnson, who was also from Greene County, Tennessee (the “Middle Creek” Johnson
Family). These two Johnson families were not related “by blood”, but were related by marriage.
The 13th Illinois Cavalry was formed by Robert Henry Johnson (1812-1885), the brother of John Kent
Johnson (1813-1892). Thus, Robert Henry Johnson, was the Uncle of the younger Robert H. A third
brother of Robert Henry and John Kent Johnson was Hiram Gibbs Johnson (1816-1871/79), whose wife
was Jane Johns(t)on, a sister of Christopher Cooper Johnson, and the Aunt of Zopher Alexander Johnson.
By 1864, the new enlistees of the 13th Illinois Cavalry were mustered at Benton (Illinois) Barracks and
were attached to the 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, 7th Army Corps Department of Arkansas. Within
days after arriving at Camp Butler (in Illinois), Zan caught the measles, a disease from which he would
never fully recover. Zan was sent home to Macedonia, Illinois on a ten day furlough to regain his health.
Zan’s furlough was extended and there on 2-23-1864, Zan and Sarah Ann Boster were married by the
Reverend Hosea Vise. Sarah, born 2-14-1844, was the daughter of Andrew (1818-1884) and Rebecca
Clark Boster. Three days after their wedding, Zan rejoined his Unit.
The Brigade was posted at Pine Bluff and Helena, Arkansas. The lowlands of the Mississippi Delta proved
to be a swamp-pit where diseases flourished. Zan was among the sick, having lung problems as a result of
the measles. Zan served to the conclusion of the War and was mustered out on 8-31-1865. Upon his
discharge, he received “bounty pay” of $180.
The Regiment did not participate in any major engagements because most of the War was fought in
Virginia, Georgia and Tennessee. The 13th Illinois Cavalry saw most of their action in southwest Missouri
and Arkansas where they participated in skirmishes with the Confederates. The magnitude of the disease-
ridden camps in Arkansas can be seen from the statistics of the 13th Illinois Cavalry:
Killed or mortally wounded in service: 21 Enlisted men 0 Officers
Died of disease: 360 Enlisted men 4 Officers
Were it not for the tragedies of the Civil War, we would know very little about Zan because he died at a
relatively young age. There is no picture of him that is known. Zan lived a quiet life as a farmer in
Macedonia, thus leaving few records of the events of his life. Because of ill health, he filed for a Civil War
pension in 1871, which he received, Certificate Number 172925. Shortly before Zan’s death, he was a
Justice of the Peace for Hamilton County. Zan died at the age of 42. On 9-4-1887, Zan closed his eyes for
the final time and flew on the wings of angels beyond the ephemeral bounds of earth. Zan’s widow, Sarah,
was left to raise their sons on her own.
Page 2
ZOPHER ALEXANDER AND SARAH BOSTER JOHNSON
(Continued)
Zan and Sarah had 11 or 12 children. We do not know how many of these children were living when Sarah
was widowed. Unfortunately, this information is not found in the Civil War Pension File. Only four of
their children survived to adulthood. Because Zan and Sarah were married in 1864, and the date of birth of
their oldest surviving child was 1874, it is presumed many of the children who died were first-born
children. These children are certainly buried in unmarked graves in the Macedonia Church Cemetery. Zan
and Sarah’s known children, all of whom are buried in the Methodist Church cemetery in Macedonia were:
(* denotes those buried at the Methodist Church cemetery in Macedonia, Illinois)
1. Riley Alexander*, born on 7-1-1874. Riley was named for his Father’s first cousin, Riley Macken
Johnson (c.1818 TN- 1882 MO). Riley married several times. His first wife was Lucinda Emaline Ramsey
Hullinger whom Riley married on 4-2-1893. With Lucinda, Riley had four (known) children, and his
family is enumerated in the 1900 census of Knights Prairie Township. At this time, Lucinda was pregnant
with their fourth child, who was born in September of 1900. This child was William Riley and on his birth
certificate Riley signed the certificate with his mark “X”. Riley’s second wife was Emma Taylor. Because
I have not been able to find Riley in the 1910 census of any State, I do not know if Emma was the Mother
of Riley’s youngest child. Riley’s third wife was Mollie Fehnestock, but I do not know where or when they
were married. In the 1920 Census of Butler County, Missouri, Riley was enumerated with a wife, Mary E.,
who could be either Emma Taylor or Mollie Fehnestock. There were no children in their 1920 household.
Sometime after September 1900, Riley and his family left Macedonia and moved to Naylor, Missouri
where Riley was a carpenter. His children were: (1) Lena, born December 1893, who died unmarried at a
young age before 1920; (2) Marshall, born July 1895, who married Gertie Harris shortly before the 1920
census. Marshall and Gertie are enumerated in the 1920 census of Butler County, Missouri, with no
children in their household. They had nine children whose names are not known to me. Their oldest
daughter was Neva, whose children are: (i) Donald Edward Lawson, (ii) Carolyn “Joan” Lawson,
(iii) Jerry Dean Lawson, and (iv) Billy Joe Lawson. (3) Lora Lewis, born 11-23-1898. Lora married
Esther Louella Burt on 3-1-1919. At the time of the 1920 census, Lora and Esther lived in Scott County,
Missouri, where Lora was a railroad laborer. By 1922, Lora had taken his family to Piqua, Ohio where he
was a photographer. By 1928, the family lived near Detroit, Michigan. In 1929, they were on their way to
Houston, Texas where Lora was a sharecropper. From there, it was on to Arkansas to pick berries, then
back to Naylor, Missouri to sharecrop; and by 1933 the family returned to Piqua, Ohio. Lora and Esther
had three sons: (i) Harold Edwin, born on 12-13-1920 in Naylor, Missouri. Harold served in World War II
and was a prisoner of war in Germany. He married and had one son and six daughters. Harold died at the
age of 73 in Boise, Idaho. (ii) Richard “Dick” Riley, born 3-10-1922 in Piqua, Ohio. Dick was a pilot in
World War II. After the War, he married Marjorie Barbara Moreland on 11-20-1954 in Deale, Maryland.
Dick and Marjorie live in Deale and have a son, Carl Lewis, and two daughters, Leslie Kay Johnson Livacz
and Brenda Lou Johnson McAlwee. (iiii) Lora Lewis Johnson Junior born in 1924, who died of rheumatic
fever at the age of four and is buried in Piqua, Ohio. Lora Senior’s family was quite migratory. He died in
Sarasota, Florida in 1968. Lora Senior’s son, Richard “Dick” Riley Johnson, has written a wonderfully
engaging book, Twenty Five Milk Runs, in which he recounts his migratory upbringing and tales of his
youth. The book is quite well written and entertaining. Anecdotes in Dick’s book allow the reader an
unusual insight into times past and the hardships of the Great Depression. Dick’s book may be purchased
on the website of Trafford Publishing Company. Dick is one of the co-authors of this article, and he is
participating in our Johnson DNA Project. (4) William Riley, born on 9-22-1900 in Knights Prairie
Township, Hamilton County, Illinois. William Riley married Lillian, surname unknown. They had two
children: (i) William Junior, who died as a young man during World War II while serving as a Naval Air
Cadet, and (ii) Irene. (5) Daisy, born after 1900 who married Frank Childress. Daisy had two children:
(i) Dorothy and (ii) Frank Childress Junior.
By 1920, all of Riley’s children had left home and “scattered to the winds”. In later years Riley married a
final time to his caretaker, whose name is not known. He died shortly thereafter on 5-12-1951.
Page 3
ZOPHER ALEXANDER AND SARAH BOSTER JOHNSON
(Continued)
2. Clarence Edgar “Edd”*, born on 5-2-1875. Edd married Dora Meadows* (1877-1967) on 9-24-1896.
Dora was the daughter of James Lewis and Sarah Ingram Meadows. Edd was a farmer in the Macedonia
area where he and Dora raised seven children: (1) Nellie*, born on 7-19-1898. Nellie married Bruce
Fowler* (1899-1988) on 2-19-1927. They did not have children. Nellie died on 8-14-1991. (2) Everett
E.*, born in a log cabin on 1-15-1901. Everett married Floy Pauline Holt* (1901-1987), the daughter of
William and Melissa Austin Holt. They had two children: (i) Mary Virginia Johnson Minton, who today
lives in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and (ii) Walter, who at the time of his Father’s death in 1996, lived in
Long Beach, California. Everett Johnson died on 11-22-1996. (3) Willard Ervin, born on 12-3-1903.
Willard married Adele Robinson (1900 MO-1983 OK) in Naylor, Missouri. Willard and Adele lived in
Rockford and Springfield, Missouri where Willard was a schoolteacher. Willard and Adel have two
children: (i) Frances, who married Dwain Sawyer and lives in Oklahoma City, and (ii) Phillip Dewayne
“Phil”, who lives in Knoxville, Tennessee with his beautiful wife, Cindy, and daughters, Katie and Sarah.
Phil Johnson works for the University of Tennessee, and he is a co-author of this article. Willard Ervin
Johnson died on 2-9-1988 in Edmond, Oklahoma. (4) Wilford D,* born on 9-12-1906. Wilford married
Versa Hall (1912 – 1996) on 7-1-1935 in Troy, Ohio. Wilford and Versa have one daughter and six sons:
(i) Vera who married Coney Crain, (ii) Keith, (iii) Loyd, (iv) Delbert, (v) Gordan, (vi) Kenneth, and
(vii) Gerald “Jerry”. Their son, Jerry Johnson is participating in the Johnson DNA Project. Wilford
Johnson died in November 1979. Wilford’s wife, Versa, died in 1996 in Lincoln, Illinois. (5) Guy*, born
2-27-1909. Guy married Norma Rice on 12-19-1931. Guy and Norma have four children: (i) Ruth Ann,
who died before 1951, (ii) Glen Edward, (iii) Donna Sue and (iv) Karen Elaine. Guy Johnson died in the
Orient Mine explosion on 12-21-1951. (6) Golda, who married Cameron Miller on 11-13-1937. Cameron
and Golda have three children: (i) Michael K., (ii) Dennis, and (iii) Anita, who married Tony Diefenback.
This family still resides near Macedonia. In 2004, Anita Diefenback hosted a luncheon at her beautiful
home for our Johnson Family Reunion. (7) Dorothy F.*, born on 5-17-1918. Dorothy married Virgil L.
Browning* (1915-1973) on 10-21-1945. Dorothy and Virgil have four children: (i) Kendall W.,
(ii) Lindell R., (iii) Eldora, and (iv) Cathy J. Their daughter, Eldora Browning Phillips, is a co-author of
this article. Eldora has fond memories of her Johnson uncles who were fun-loving and always enjoyed a
good joke. Eldora says, “I wish I could convey on paper the soft, gentle, loving spirit of the Johnson men
whom I’ve known.” Eldora has been our wonderful hostess for two Johnson Family Reunions held in Mt.
Vernon, Illinois. Eldora married Eugene Phillips. They have one daughter, Emily, who attends Dental
School at Concorde College. Eldora Browning Phillips and her family live in Independence, Missouri.
Virgil Browning died on 10-11-1973. Dorothy Johnson Browning died on 12-22-2002.
Clarence Edgar Johnson died on 8-31-1937. His wife, Dora Meadows Johnson died on 1-26-1967 at the
home of her daughter, Dorothy Browning, in Springfield, Illinois. Edd and Dora leave over one hundred
descendants to honor their memory.
3. Albert L.*, born on 4-24-1877. He married Nancy Lovina “Laura” Campbell* (1880-1961) on 3-15-
1899. Albert was a Minister at the Methodist Church and the Church of the Nazarene. In 1920, he and
Lovina lived in Northern Township, Franklin County. They had eight children: (1) Clyde, born c.
1901,who lived in Benton; (2) Paul W.*, born on 11-17-1902, who died unmarried on 10-19-1920;
(3) Pender*, born on 10-25-1904. Pender married Jewell Harrelson on 3-16-1924. They had two children:
(i) Marcella Made and (ii) Donna Faye. Pender died at the age of 29 on 2-19-1934. (4) Hazel (Biggs),
born c. 1906, who lived in Benton; (5) Herman A., born 11-23-1909, who lived in Macedonia;
(6) Pauline (Wingo), who lived in Benton; (7) Gertie Lucille (Meston), born c. 1914 who lived in
California; and (8) Helen (Puckett), born on 8-16-1917 who lived in Aiken and Thompsonville, Illinois.
Albert died at his home in Benton, Illinois on 1-20-1956. At the time of his death, six of his children were
living, and he was survived by 20 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. Albert’s descendants continue
to live near the original homestead farms in Macedonia, Illinois.
Page 4
ZOPHER ALEXANDER AND SARAH BOSTER JOHNSON
(Continued)
4. James C., born c. 1879. James was no doubt named for his Uncle James A. Johnson and for his
Grandfather, Christopher Cooper Johnson, who died in 1862 during the Civil War. James C. died in
childhood. He is surely buried in an unmarked grave at the Methodist Church Cemetery in Macedonia.
5. Elmer Elsworth*, born on 5-6-1882. Elmer was named for his Father’s baby brother, Ellsworth
Johnson, who died in 1862 at Memphis, Tennessee. Elmer married Joyce “Joycie” May House* (1890-
1976) on 10-14-1908. In 1899, Elmer purchased the farm of his Uncle James A. Johnson, when he left
Macedonia and moved to Mt. Vernon, Illinois. Elmer and Joycie had one (known) child: (1) Glen Elmer,
born on 9-24-1909. Glen Elmer married Veneta Morris. They apparently did not have children. At the
time of his Father’s death in 1938, Glen Elmer lived in Delafield, Illinois and was a prison guard at Joliet
Prison. He died on 10-16-1995 and is buried at the Masonic and Odd Fellows Cemetery in Benton, Illinois.
No children were mentioned in his obituary.
Elmer Elsworth Johnson died on 9-30-1938. After Elmer’s death, his widow, Joycie, remarried to Clarence
Standerfer. She died in Lawrenceville, Illinois.
In 1887, upon the death of her husband, Zan, Sarah Boster Johnson was left to raise their children. Sarah’s
brother, Cornelius “Neil” C. Boster, was a merchant and also owned a large amount of land in Hamilton
and Franklin counties. Neil Boster was well-off financially, and he probably helped Sarah after she was
widowed. In the 1905 Plat Map of Hamilton County, C. C. Boster owned most of the acreage in Section 30
where Zan’s father, Christopher Cooper Johnson, and grandfather, Zopher Johnson Junior, settled in 1853.
In later years, the mineral acres on the Neil Boster farm were leased, and Sarah’s children received a small
royalty. Sarah may also have owned a small farm, because an S. A. Johnson is listed in the 1905 Plat Map
of Section 20, owning a farm of 40 acres near the Boster family.
Times were very difficult for Sarah’s family, and her sons received little formal education. Sarah’s oldest
son, Riley, only received two years of schooling. After her husband’s death, Sarah drew a small Civil War
pension for her family. On 3-5-1898, Sarah’s sons, Clarence Edgar and Riley Alexander, signed a Quit
Claim Deed to their brother, Elmer Johnson. The acreage was not stated, but the description of the land in
Macedonia, Hamilton County was:
“The NW fourth (1/4) of the SW quarter of Section 30, township 5 south range 5,
East of the 3rd P.M.”
This land was either part of or very near the land owned in 1905 by C. C. “Neil” Boster. This parcel of
land was also very near the land owned by their Grandfather, Christopher Cooper Johnson and their Great-
Grandfather, Zopher Johnson Junior. (Refer to the 1905 Plat Map of Section 30, Hamilton County, Illinois,
in Appendix 5.) The Notary Public signing the Quit Claim deed was C. C. “Neil” Boster.
On 3-18-1902, Elmer Johnson and his Mother, Sarah Boster Johnson, sold 40 acres “more or less” to C. C.
and Margaret E. Boster. The description of the farm was:
“The SW fourth (1/4) of the SW quarter of Section 30, township 5, south range 5,
East of the 3rd Principal Meridian.”
Excepted out of the sale was “a strip of land on the west side of the South half of about two acres more or
less deeded by Z. (Zopher) A. (Alexander) Johnson and Sarah Johnson, husband and wife, to Julia Kelley.”
This 40-acre farm sold in 1902 by Elmer Johnson and his Mother was sold to C. C. Boster for $1,000.
Page 5
ZOPHER ALEXANDER AND SARAH BOSTER JOHNSON
(Continued)
In the 1900 census of the Knights Prairie Township, only her son, Elmer Elsworth remained in Sarah Ann’s
home. Living nearby was Sarah Ann’s brother-in-law, James A. Johnson. The 1900 census was
enumerated on July 4, 1900. Shortly thereafter, James A. Johnson left Macedonia and moved to a farm
near Mt. Vernon.
At the time of the 1910 census, Sarah Ann lived with her married son Elmer Elsworth Johnson in the
Knights Prairie Township. In both the 1900 and the 1910 Census, Sarah Ann was very consistent in
stating she had 11 children, of whom four were living.
Sarah Ann died in Macedonia on 6-17-1914. Her obituary states she had twelve children. Sarah Ann
Boster Johnson was buried under a large tree in the Methodist Church Cemetery. Her grave is near, but not
beside, her husband, Zopher Alexander Johnson. Sarah Ann’s descendants have recently placed a marker
on her grave.
Many descendants of Zopher Alexander and Sarah Boster Johnson are buried in the Methodist Church
Cemetery in Macedonia, Illinois. After the Civil War, Zopher Alexander and his brother, James A.
Johnson, helped to build this Church. A transcription of the Cemetery is available at our Johnson website,
www.johnsonfamilyhistory.org and at the Hamilton County, Illinois website, www.carolyar.com.
The ultimate legacy of Zopher Alexander Johnson (1845-1887) is that it is his line that will perpetuate the
Johnson surname of the Illinois branch into the future. Zopher Alexander’s grandfather, Zopher Johnson
Junior (1790-1866) had only two sons who survived childhood. Of these two sons, Christopher Cooper
Johnson (c. 1822-1862) had two sons who survived childhood (James A. and Zopher Alexander Johnson),
and Dr. John Henderson Johnson (1829-1919), although having thirteen children, had only three sons, with
just one (Zopher) who left male descendants.
After the present-day generation passes, it is only the male descendants of Zopher Alexander Johnson, who
will carry the Johnson surname forward. Although dieing at an early age, Zopher Alexander was blessed
with four sons who survived childhood. These four sons, in turn had twelve sons, and the twelve sons had
sixteen sons, who are the great-grandsons of Zopher Alexander Johnson. These sixteen great-grandsons
descend from Zopher Alexander’s sons, Riley Alexander (1874-1951) and Clarence Edgar (1875-1937).
Riley Alexander’s grandson, Dick, and Clarence Edgar’s grandson, Jerry, are participating in our Johnson
Family DNA Project.
No picture of Zopher Alexander Johnson is known to exist. His physical description in the Civil War
Muster Rolls of the 13th Illinois Cavalry, Company H, gives Zopher Alexander’s height as 5’5” tall. He
had black hair, dark eyes and dark complexion. Although much shorter than his father, Christopher, who
was almost 6 feet tall, Zopher Alexander’s coloring was the same as his father.
Selected affidavits from the Civil War Pension File of Zopher Alexander Johnson follow on pages 6
through 9.
Page 6
ZOPHER ALEXANDER JOHNSON, 13TH IL CAVALRY
CLAIM NO. 158678 PENSION NO. 172925
(Spelling and punctuation unchanged)
“State of Illinois
Hamilton County
On this ninth day of July A.D. 1870 personally appeared before me Clerk of the County Court in and for
said County and State, William R. Burton a resident of Macedonia post office address in said County and
State, who I certify to be respectable and entitled to credit and who being by me first duly sworn according
to law on his oath declares that he was 1st Lieutenant in Company “H” “13” Regt. Ill. Cav. Vols. And that
he well knows Zopher A. Johnson who was a private in said Company and Regiment; that while in the
service aforesaid and in the line of duty as a soldier at Camp Butler Illinois on or about the 15th day of
January 1864 said Johnson contracted the measles which settled in his lungs, by reason of cold, and thereby
rendered him the said Johnson unable to perform military duty for the span of upwards of twelve months
after which time he recovered to some extent so as to be able to perform the duty of a soldier normally, but
generally he was so effected with said disease of the lungs, contracted as aforesaid, so as to render him
unable to perform the duty of a soldier.
That said soldier was in good health at the time of his enlistment in said service, viz: December 21st,1863
and said disease of his lungs effected him while in said service and at the time of his discharge so as to
render him unable to perform military duty.
Affiant resides as above stated and has no interest direct or indirect in this claim.
William R. Burton”
“State of Illinois
Hamilton County
On this 11th day of March A.D. 1871 personally appeared before me clerk of the county court in and for
said county Zopher A. Johnson a resident of Macedonia in said County, whom I certify to be respectable
and entitled to credit and who being by me first duly sworn on his oath declares that he was a private in
Company “H” 13 Regt. Ill Cav. Vol. and that he was discharged from said regiment August 31, 1865 and
that he has not been in the military or naval service of the United States since the date of his discharge there
from on the date last aforesaid.
Affiant was treated at General Hospital Camp Butler Illinois from on or about the first day of January 1864
to on or about the first day of February of same year and remainder of time in the regimental Hospital.
That from the time of affiants discharge from said service to September 1866 he was not treated by any
Physicion, that from the time last (word not readable) to the date of his application for pension he was
treated by Dr. J. H. Johnson whose affidavit has been (word not readable) file in this case in regard to said
treatment.
And further affiant saith not.
Zophar A. Johnson”
Transcriber’s comment:
Dr. J. (John) H. (Henderson) Johnson was the Uncle of Zopher Alexander Johnson
Page 7
ZOPHER ALEXANDER JOHNSON, 13TH IL CAVALRY
CLAIM NO. 158678 PENSION NO. 172925
(Continued)
“State of Illinois
Hamilton County
On 30 day of December A.D. 1879, personally appeared before me (name not readable), J.P. in and for
said county and state J. H. Johnson M. D. a resident of said county whom I certify to be a practicing
physician of good repute in his profession and who being by my first duly sworn, and whom I certify to be
respectable and entitled to credit, on by oath declares that he well knows Zopher A. Johnson a resident of
said county and formerly a private of Company H. 13th Regt. Ill. Cav. Vols. And that in addition to the
affidavit of affiant now on file in this claim for pension as to the health of said soldier up to June 9, 1870
affiant would further state that he has been the family physician of said soldier and has treated him as his
physician from the date last aforesaid down to the date hereof and during that time the said soldier has been
continuously effected with disease of the lungs as stated in my former affidavit herein, and that said disease
has been continuous from the date of my former affidavit down to the present time, and that said disease
does not appear to yield to treatment but appears to be permenant.
That affiant has no interest in this claim and his post office address is Dahlgren in said County and State.
J. H. Johnson MD”
“State of Illinois
Hamilton County
On this 19th day of March A.D. 1880 personally appeared before me E. H. Vise, a Notary Public within and
for the County and State aforesaid Robert H. Johnson aged 34 Years who being duly sworn according to
law Says That he was personally acquainted with Zopher A. Johnson Claimant for pension No 158678 from
August 31st 1865 to September 1866 and was personally and well known to the fact that the said Zopher A.
Johnson during all the time embraced between these dates was suffering from a Cough caused presumably
from the effect of an attack of Measles. Affiant further states that he was known to the fact of said
Claimants having contracted measles while in the Service of the United States and is also Versant with the
fact of the (word not readable) of said Claimants disability from the time of its contraction to September
1866 and even longer. That his means of knowing the foregoing facts are derived from having been a
member of the same Company during the service and his neighbor Subsequently. That he has no interest
direct or indirect in the prosecution of this Claim and his Post Office address is Macedonia Ills. And that he
is not related to Claimant by (word not readable) or otherwise.
R. H. Johnson”
Transcriber’s comment:
R. (Robert) H. Johnson was the son of John Kent Johnson and the nephew of Robert Henry Johnson, who
organized the 13th Illinois Cavalry. Another brother of John Kent and Robert Henry was Hiram Gibbs
Johnson, who was the husband of Jane Johnson Johnson, the Aunt of Zopher Alexander Johnson. The
three brothers, John Kent, Robert Henry and Hiram Gibbs Johnson were the sons of William and Nancy
Morgan Johnson of Middle Creek in Greene County, Tennessee. Zopher Alexander and R. H. Johnson
enlisted in the 13th Cavalry Company H on the same day and were discharged on the same day.
Page 8
ZOPHER ALEXANDER JOHNSON, 13TH IL CAVALRY
CLAIM NO. 158678 PENSION NO. 172925
(Continued)
“State of Illinois
Hamilton County
On this 17th day of March A.D. 1880 personally appeared before me E. H. Vise, a Notary Public within and
for the County and State Aforesaid, Andrew J. Boster. Aged 61 Years who being duly sworn according to
law. Says that he is and was personally acquainted with Zopher A. Johnson claimant for pension No
158678 from August 31, 1865 to September 1866. And both prior and subsequently thereto that he is
personally cognizant of the fact that during the time (word not readable) between these particular dates that
said Claimant was Suffering with a severe Cough said to have resulted from an attack of measles.
Affiant verry distinctly remembers having recommended a cough mixture to Claimant, that he affiant had
found to be good by using same in his own family.
That he has no interest in this Claim direct or indirect, That his Post Office address is Macedonia Ills.
A. J. Boster”
Transcriber’s comment:
Andrew J. Boster (1818-1884) was the father-in-law of Zopher Alexander Johnson.
“State of Illinois
Franklin County
Jasper Summers being sworn upon his oath makes the following statement. I served in Co H 13h Reg Ills
Vol. Cavalry and Zopher A. Johnson served with me in the same Company and Regt. And said Johnson had
the measles at Camp Butler Ills was very sick and when a little better he was furloughed home about
January 1864 I remember that afterwards he was often lame with some disorder of the right leg and had
frequent spells of Diarrhea and sometimes his lungs affected I have no interest in this claim for pension
and my post office address is Akin Franklin Co Ills.
Jasper Summers”
“State of Illinois
County of Will
In the Pension Claim No 172925 of Zopher A. Johnson of Co. H 13 Reg. Ill Cav, Vol, Personally came
before me a Notary Public in and for aforesaid county and state E. R. Williard MD a resident of
Wilmington of the County of Will and State of Illinois. Who being duly sworn declares in relation to the
aforesaid case as follows, that said soldier was treated several different times during the years 1864 & 1865
for chronic catarrh of the lungs resulting from a severe attack of measles contracted while in the Service,
also for Chronic Diarrhoea and varicose veins of the right leg that was also contracted in the service and
while on duty as a soldier. Said solder was often placed on light duty and relieved from horseback duty on
account of this malady of the right leg.
Affiant declares that he has no interest in the prosecution of above claim.
E. R. Willard, M.D.”
Page 9
ZOPHER ALEXANDER JOHNSON, 13TH IL CAVALRY
CLAIM NO. 158678 PENSION NO. 172925
(Continued)
“Macedonia ILLS April 24th, 1885, Hon Com of Pensions,
In reply to your letter of April the 13th 1885 will Say that perhaps the witnesses in my Claim have got the
dates a little mixed. I was very Sick at Camp Butler Ills with measles during January 1864. and about the
last of that month, Jan 1864, I got a 10 days furlough home. About Feb. 7 Dr. Brown gave me medicin and
a 20 days extension of furlough. About Feb. 27 I Started back to the Regiment, while at home I had a bad
cough. Diarrhea and my right leg somewhat Swelled Stiff and Panefulle. I thought at the time it was
Rheumatis. My leg continued quite bad the next three months, and Som two months afterwards in May
1864 perhaps when the Swelling and Stiffness began to leave my leg, I began to notice the Swelled vains.
This is as near as I can give you the dates and story of my leg. My Comrade, Albert Johnson died Jan 20th
1864, about three days before I started to return to the Regiment. The date of these two facts which we have
in writing enables me to give the time as near as I have done in the Case. Hopeing this explanation will be
Satisfactory. I am respectfully. Zopher A. Johnson Macedonia Ills”
Transcriber’s comment:
Albert Johnson enlisted in the 49th Illinois Company D, although it appears he transferred to the 13th Illinois
Cavalry, Company H. He died at 19 years of age on 1-20-1864 and is buried at the Macedonia Methodist
Church Cemetery. Albert Johnson was the son of Robert Henry Johnson, who organized the 13th Illinois
Cavalry. Zopher Alexander Johnson’s older sister, Jane, was married to Hiram Gibbs Johnson, the brother
of Robert Henry Johnson. Robert Henry Johnson lost another son during the War. This son was Robert J.
Johnson who served with Zopher Alexander’s father and brother in the 40th Illinois Infantry, Company A.
Robert J. Johnson died in battle on 7-1-1862 at the age of 20. Brothers, Robert J. and Albert Johnson, have
tombstones side-by-side at the Macedonia Church Cemetery. Their tombstones read, “They served their
Country.”
SARAH A. JOHNSON, WIDOW OF ZOPHER A. JOHNSON,
PENSION NUMBER 172925
“State of Illinois, County of Hamilton
On this 7th day of November, 1887, personally appeared Sarah A. Johnson, who, being duly sworn, declares
that she is the lawful widow of Zophar A. Johnson, deceased; that he died on the 4th day of September,
1887….. that she was married to the said Zophar A. Johnson on the 24th day of February, 1864, at Hamilton
County, Ill; that her name before said marriage was Sarah A. Boster.
Sarah A. Johnson “X” her mark
Also personally appeared James A. Johnson, residing at Macedonia Ill. and R. H. Johnson, residing at
Macedonia Ill, who, being duly sworn say that they were present and saw Sarah A. Johnson sign her name
(make her mark) to the foregoing declaration; that they know her to be the lawful widow of Zophar A
Johnson, who died on the 4th day of September 1887…. James A. Johnson was present when they were
married and was present when he died, R. H. Johnson knows they had been living together as husband and
wife and saw him next day after he died and assisted at the funeral.
James A. Johnson
R. H. Johnson
Sworn to and subscribed before me on this 7th day of November 1887.”
Transcriber’s comment:
James A. Johnson was the brother of Zopher Alexander Johnson. R. H. Johnson was the son of John Kent
Johnson, who was related by marriage to James and Zopher Alexander Johnson.
CALVIN AND PHOEBE ADELINE JOHNSON BUNTON
OF HAMILTON AND PERRY COUNTY, ILLINOIS
Co-written with Debbie Piper and Terri Aleman
Phoebe Adeline, a daughter of Christopher and Kathryn Kerbaugh Johnson, was born in Greene County,
Tennessee on 11-15-1847. Phoebe was named for her paternal Grandmother, “Phebe” Cooper Johns(t)on,
the wife of Zopher Johns(t)on Junior. When Phoebe was only five years of age, she made the arduous
journey from Tennessee to southern Illinois with her parents and grandparents.
After Phoebe Adeline's parents, Christopher and Kathryn, died at Memphis, she and her younger sister,
Sarah Ann, went to live with their sister, Elizabeth Jane, the wife of Enoch S. Johnson. It is assumed that
she resided with her sister until her marriage to Calvin Bunton.
Phoebe Adeline married Calvin Alexander Bunton on 5-5-1869 in Macadonia, Illinois. The marriage was
performed by William P. Kelley, Justice of the Peace. Calvin was born on 1-13-1846 in Brushing, New
York, Ulster County. He was the son of John Bunton (born 5-20-1796) in Rochester, Ulster County New
York. Calvin’s Mother died when he was only four years old, and he was raised by his Aunt Elizabeth
Bunton Roick and her husband, Patrick. As a young boy, Calvin worked as a “newsie” where Times
Square is today. Times were difficult for the young boy, and as soon as he was old enough, he signed on as
a laborer and worked on the Erie Canal driving a 12-horse team.
Less than one month after his 18th birthday, Calvin enlisted with Company B, 20 Regiment N.Y. State
Militia on 2-3-1864. His enlistment papers describe him as 5’6” tall, with fair complexion, grey eyes and
dark hair. After the War, Calvin came to southern Illinois, probably to work in the coal mines.
In the census enumerations through 1860, Phoebe was always enumerated under this name. After her
marriage, in later enumerations, she was enumerated as Adeline. When Phoebe Adeline gave a deposition
for her brother, James A. Johnson, in 1914, she used the name of “Adaline”.
After Phoebe Adeline and Calvin married they lived in Macadonia. In July of 1878, a fire destroyed their
home. Also lost, was the Johnson Family Bible. Phoebe Adeline and her younger sister, Sarah Ann
Johnson Cullins, were very close. In the 1880 census of Knights Prairie Township in Hamilton County,
they lived within four households of each other.
Sometime before the 1900 census, Calvin and Phoebe Adeline moved to Du Quoin, Illinois in Perry County
where Calvin was a coal miner and farmer. Phoebe Adeline tended house and raised their children. In the
1900 census, Phoebe Adeline said she had nine children, of whom seven were then living. The two
children who did not survive childhood are most probably buried in unmarked graves at the Methodist
Church Cemetery in Macedonia, Illinois.
In Du Quoin, Phoebe Adeline and Calvin lived on 314 South Washington Street. Calvin Alexander Bunton
died at his home on 1-8-1923. Phoebe Adeline Johnson Bunton died three months later on 4-30-1923. Her
cause of death was listed as “Diabetis Melitis”.
One picture of Phoebe Adeline as a young woman is known to exist, and this picture is believed to be her
wedding picture. Phoebe Adeline was very beautiful, a slim young woman with dark hair and fair
complexion. A picture taken in her older years, shows Phoebe Adeline to have been a very petite woman.
The seven known children of Phoebe Adeline and Calvin Alexander Bunton were:
1. Ida May Bunton, born c. 1870. Ida married William T. Terry on 2-5-1887. By 1910, Ida was a widow
and lived in Marion, Indiana. In the 1910 census, Ida said she had five children, of whom four were living.
The four known children are: (1) Earl; (2) William T. Junior, born c. 1888; (3) Della K., born c. 1892
and (4) Clyde C., born c. 1894. Ida May Bunton Terry died on 6-14-1927 in Sesser, Illinois, Franklin
County.
Page 2
CALVIN AND PHOEBE ADELINE JOHNSON BUNTON
(Continued)
2. Sarah Jennie Bunton, born March 1871. She married Peter L. Kaufman on 12-10-1888 in Perry
County. In the 1900 census, “Jennie” stated she had five children, of whom three were living. Peter
Kaufman was a coal miner in Perry County. Their known children were: (1) Raymond “Ray”, born
November 1889; (2) Cecil, born August 1894, who married Dorsey Mathis; (3) Peter Junior, born
December 1899, who married Edith Perrin; (4) Edith J., born c. 1903, who married Thomas W. Ryan;
(5) Opal M., born c. 1907, who married Edward Finney; (6) Arthur B., born c. 1909; and (7) Lyle Calvin,
born c. 1912.
3. Effie V. Bunton, born c. 1874. She married Gus Rayborn on 10-24-1897. Her second husband was
William Hill. Her third husband was Emory Daugherty. One child is known: (1) Mildred Rayborn, who
married Mr. Jackson. Effie may have later married Mr. Ackroyd.
4. Arthur Earl Bunton, born c. 1878. He married Minnie Cook on 10-24-1897 in Perry County, Illinois.
In 1900, Arthur and Minnie lived in Willisville in Perry County. By 1910, they lived in Jackson County
where Arthur was a Minister of the Methodist Church. In the 1910 Census, Minnie stated she had six
children, of whom only two were living. By 1920, the family lived in Dewitt County. Two children are
known: (1) Edward A. , born c. 1905 and (2) Mary A., born c. 1909. In 1923, Arthur gave the
information for his Father’s death certificate. Arthur stated his Father’s father, John Bunton, was born in
Germany. He did not know the name of his paternal grandmother.
5. William Alexander Bunton, born on 2-25-1879. In 1900, William still lived in his parents’ household.
William married Rosetta Frances Webb (1884-1975) in Waltonville, Illinois on 6-22-1902. William and
Rosetta had eight children: (1) Velma Marie, born on 9-2-1903. Velma married William Robert Chambers
on 9-2-1923 in Du Quoin. Their children are: (i) William Robert Junior, (ii) Eugene, and (iii) Patricia
Rose Chambers Carter. (2) Hazel Belle, born on 9-22-1906. Hazel married Carroll Rueben Erickson on 2-
14-1931 in Crown Point, Indiana. Their children are: (i) Carol Frances Erickson Sotiropoulos and
(ii) Robert Elwood Erickson. (3) Carson Alexander, born on 12-12-1908. Carson married Lillian
Katherine Dunn on 3-1-1930. Lillian died on 6-12-1931, and Carson remarried to Ruth Belle Hunter
(1916-1994) on 7-16-1932. Carson and Ruth have seven children: (i) Billy Carson, (ii) James Donald,
(iii) Jerry Dale, (iv) Calvin Daniel, (v) David Richard, (vi) Michael Lee, and (vii) Debbie. William
Alexander Bunton died on 3-24-1961in Du Quoin. Rosetta died on 1-5-1975 in Springfield. They are
buried at the Odd Fellows cemetery in Du Quoin. William and Rosetta’s son, Carson, is the Grandfather of
Debbie Bunton Piper, a co-author of this article. Debbie lives in southern Illinois near Du Quoin with her
husband Rex and their sons, Rex Junior and Jonathan. (4) Dorothy Mildred, born on 5-2-1911. Dorothy
married Charles Elwood Lawson on 8-26-1973 in St. Louis. Their children are: (i) Bonita Colleen Lawson
Rumble, and (ii) James Elwood Lawson. A granddaughter of Dorothy Mildred Bunton Lawson is Terri
Aleman, who is a co-author of this article. Terri Aleman lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband and two
daughters, Phoebe Adeline and Paige. (5) Jennie Rosalie, born on 10-2-1914; died 5-6-1964; (6) Arthur
Dale, born on 3-12-1918. Arthur married Clarice May Nelson. Their children are: (i) Billy Earl, (ii) John
and (iii) Ruth Ann Bunton Covey. (7) Suzanne Mae, born on 7-21-1921. Suzanne first married Richard
K. Perry. They have one daughter, Karen Perry Carpenter. Suzanne remarried to Oscar Leslie Eddington.
Suzanne and Oscar have one son, Charles “Buddy” Eddington. (8) Eva Elizabeth, born on 2-1-1924. Eva
married Wesley Paul Kirkland on 8-22-1940 in Du Quoin. They have two children: (i) Joanna Sue
Kirkland Schue and (ii) Frances Jane Kirkland Ehler.
6. Eva Bunton, born 6-15-1881. Eva married Paul Ernest Eldridge on 2-27-1898 in Perry County. She
died in 1971 in Williamson, Illinois. Three children are known: (1) Orin; (2) Jennie; and (3) Lloyd.
7. John Bunton, born in March 1883. In 1910, John lived in his parents’ household, and in 1923, he gave
the information for his Mother’s death certificate. John knew the names of his maternal grandparents, but
he did not know they were from Tennessee. John is not found in later census records in Perry County.
ALBERT AND SARAH ANN JOHNSON CULLINS
OF HAMILTON COUNTY, ILLINOIS
Co-written with Debbie Gunter, Tina Wells and Christina Bannon
Sarah Ann Johnson, born on 2-25-1858, was the first child born in Hamilton County, Illinois to Christopher
and Kathryn Kerbaugh Johnson. Sarah Ann was only four years old at the time of her parents’ deaths in
1862 at Memphis, Tennessee. Sarah Ann and her older sister, Phoebe Adeline, were initially placed under
the guardianship of their Uncle John Henderson Johnson. In April 1864, both girls selected as their
guardians their older sister, Elizabeth Jane Johnson and her husband, Enoch S. Johnson. The family lived
in the Knights Prairie Township in Hamilton County, Illinois. By the time the documentation process was
completed, only Sarah Ann received a small pension. She was awarded $8 per month that was paid to her
Guardian, Enoch S. Johnson. The pension continued until Sarah Ann reached the age of 18 years.
At just 16 years old, Sarah Ann married Albert Jasper Cullins on 1-7-1875. Albert, born in May 1857, was
the son of John and Mary Hungate Cullins, who married on 2-4-1841 in Hamilton County, Illinois. John
Cullins was a Civil War soldier who served with the rank of Corporal in the Illinois 40th Infantry, Company
A, the same unit for which Sarah Ann’s Father, Christopher Johnson, had served and died. John Cullins
was a farmer and a blacksmith in Macedonia. His Civil War records describe him as 5’6” tall, with light
hair, light eyes and “gray” complexion. Prior to the Civil War, John had served in the Mexican War.
John Cullins was a member of GAR Post 469 in Macedonia. John (c. 1820 – 1897) and Mary Hungate
Cullins (1822-1912) are buried at the Methodist Church Cemetery in Macedonia. Sarah Ann’s brother,
James A. Johnson, was also a blacksmith, and it is possible, he learned this trade from John Cullins.
Sarah Ann and Albert made their home in the Knights Prairie Township near Macedonia. In 1880, they
probably lived on Albert’s Father’s farm, since they are enumerated next door to him. Living only two
households away was Sarah Ann’s sister, Phoebe Adeline Johnson Bunton and her husband, Calvin. Albert
Cullins was a farmer. By the time of the 1900 census, Sarah Ann and Albert lived in Eastern Township of
Franklin County. The small town of Macedonia, Illinois on one side is in Franklin County and on the
other is Hamilton County. In the 1900 census, Sarah Ann stated she had nine children, of whom only five
were then living. There are no markers at the Methodist Church in Macedonia for these four deceased
children. They are surely buried in this Cemetery where both Sarah Ann’s and Albert’s family are buried.
About 1905, Sarah Ann and Albert Cullins left Illinois. It is said the reason the Cullins Families left
Illinois was that the “logging played out”, so they went to Missouri with other Cullins and Clark family
members where there was greater economic opportunities. John Henderson Clark (1893-1968) retold in
later years how the families migrated to Missouri in covered wagons. The wagons contained all the
families’ earthly possessions and food for the trip. The people walked behind the wagons, and they
traveled every day and camped at night. The journey from Illinois took about four weeks. In the short span
of one hundred years since the families’ journey, it is impossible for us today to understand the difficulties
and hardships of the times in which they lived.
Albert and Sarah Ann first lived in Hawn, Butler County, Missouri. They left Hawn and lived in Bernie,
Stoddard County, Missouri, for a short time. At the time of the 1910 Census, the Family lived in New
Madrid, Missouri. It is not known how long the Family stayed in Missouri, but they later moved to
Hempstead County near Hope, Arkansas. It is believed Albert Cullins had family in Hempstead County,
Arkansas, because in 1910, there was a younger Albert Cullins (born c. 1870) who lived there with his
young family.
Sarah Ann died of liver disease in De Roan, Hempstead County, Arkansas on 6-30-1929. Sarah Ann’s
husband gave the information for her death certificate. Even though Sarah Ann was orphaned at only four
years of age, Albert correctly named her parents. Sarah Ann Johnson Cullins is buried in Mouser Cemetery
in or near Hope, Arkansas. At the time of the 1930 Census, Albert lived with his daughter, Ida, in
Hempstead County. He died in 1932 and is presumed to be buried with his wife, Sarah Ann, at Mouser
Cemetery.
Page 2
ALBERT AND SARAH ANN JOHNSON CULLINS
(Continued)
No picture of Sarah Ann Johnson Cullins is known to exist. All of Sarah Ann’s siblings had dark hair,
although her sister, Phoebe Adeline, and brother, James A., were more fair with light complexion, and
James had hazel eyes. Their sister, Elizabeth Jane, and brother, Zopher Alexander, both had darker
complexion and very dark eyes. Their father, Christopher, is known to have been almost six feet tall with
dark eyes, dark hair and complexion. We have no picture or physical description of their mother, Kathryn
Kerbaugh Johnson, although she was of German ancestry. Kathryn’s brother, William Kerbaugh, and all of
his daughters had fair hair and fair complexion. The Kerbaugh sisters were somewhat short and “plump”.
A picture of Sarah Ann’s adult children, probably taken in the 1940’s, shows two of her children to be more
fair with one daughter having darker hair. Sarah Ann Johnson Cullins was the last of her siblings to die.
The five known children of Albert and Saran Ann Johnson Cullins, all born in Illinois, were:
1. Oscar Jasper, born on 10-26-1876. Oscar married Ella Emma Dial on 8-22-1895. Emma, born on 7-
17-1877, was the daughter of Reuben and Nancy Ann Heffner Dial. Oscar and his family first lived in
Wayne Township, Bollinger County, Missouri. By 1910, Oscar and his family lived in New Madrid,
Missouri. In the 1910 census, they stated they had seven children, of whom five were living. Oscar was a
Minister. Their children were: (1) Goldie Fay, born on 9-27-1896 in Franklin County, Illinois. Goldie
married John Lufcy (1885-1927), a young widower with three children (Norman, Erthel and Hazel).
Goldie and John had six children: (i) Willie, (ii) Everett; (iii) Walter; (iv) Herman, a twin; (v) Therman, a
twin who died young; and (vi) Carl. Goldie’s husband, John, was killed in a farm accident on 8-26-1927
before the birth of their last child. Goldie Fay Cullins Lufcy died on 6-10-1979 in Cape Girardeau,
Missouri. (2) an unnamed son, born on 6-9-1898 who died in infancy on 6-19-1898; (3) John B., born on
5-13-1900. He married Ethel Bess. John died in Missouri in 1979. (4) Topsy, born on 8-16-1902, who
died on 8-18-1906; (5) Lilly Venita, born on 9-7-1904 in McLeansboro, Illinois. Lilly married John
William Gibbs on 8-2-1919 in Cairo, Illinois. They had seven children: (i) Elman William, born on 7-6-
1921 in Deering, Missouri; (ii) Wanda Nora, (1923-1925); (iii) Vernon Dale, born on 3-7-1925, who died
on 11-27-1990 in Indiana; (iv) Nora Venita, born on 8-16-1927 in Deering, Missouri; (v) Oscar Byron,
born on 7-4-1935 in Deering, Missouri; (vi) Kenneth Ray, born on 2-2-1937 in Morley, Missouri, and died
on 4-3-1999 in Porterville, California; and (vii) Russell Harold, born on 1-8-1940 in Morley, Missouri. A
co-author of this article, Debbie Gunther, is the granddaughter of Lilly Venita Cullins Gibbs. (5) Everett
M., born c. 1907 in Missouri. Everett married Bertie M. Burns. Their children are: (i) Sharon M. and
(ii) Ronald E. Cullins. Everett M. Cullins died on 1-24-1990. (6) Orville Vernon, born in 1909. Orville
married Reta Miller, then Norma J. Hoff on 8-10-1958. Orville’s children are (i) Virginia R. (1926-1926);
(ii) Billy R. (iii) Donald; (iv) Carolyn S. and (v) Bobby G. Cullins. Orville Vernon Cullins died on 4-25-
1999. (7) Hiram, born on 10-6-1911. Hiram did not marry. He died on 4-22-1962 and is buried in the
New Morley Cemetery. (8) Hiral (1916-1920); (9) Wilma, born c. 1919, who married Everett Penny; and
(10) Helen, born c. 1922. Helen first married Everett Kerr. After his death, Helen remarried to Edward
Dunn.
Oscar Jasper Cullins lived to be 87 years old and died on 4-29-1964. His wife, Emma, died on 1-6-1964.
They are buried in the New Morley Cemetery in Morley, Missouri.
2. Charles Edgar, born on 8-29-1880. Charles married Amanda Marie Bennett on 1-23-1901 in Benton,
Franklin County, Illinois. Amanda, born on 2-28-1883, was the daughter of Daniel David and Elizabeth
Sturges Bennett. In 1910, Charley and his family lived in Liberty Township in Stoddard County, Missouri.
At the time of the 1920 census, he and his family of seven children lived in De Roan, Hempstead County,
Arkansas. By 1922, the family lived in Dallas, Texas. The children of Charley and Amanda were:
(1) Maggie Emma, born on 11-30-1901 in Pinckneyville, Perry County, Illinois. Maggie married Johnny
Allen. Their children are: (i) Cecil, (ii) Johnny Austin, (iii) Doris; and (iv) Harold. Maggie Emma Cullins
Page 3
ALBERT AND SARAH ANN JOHNSON CULLINS
(Continued)
Allen died in Modesto, California on 8-26-1986. (2) Bertha Marie, born on 1-29-1905 in Zalma,
Bollinger County, Missouri. Bertha married Leon Dennis in Dallas, Texas on 7-16-1922. Their children
are: (i) Billie Doris, (ii) Buddy, and (iii) a son, whose name is not known. Bertha Cullins Dennis died in
Texas on 5-18-1983. (3) Roy Edgar, born on 2-25-1907 in Zalma, Missouri. He married Ledith Mae
Burnett in Dallas, Texas on 3-9-1929 and had one child, Dorothy Mae. Roy died in Texas in November
1979. (4) Lora Ray, born on 7-10-1909 in Zalma. He died at the age of 13 in Dallas on 8-11-1922 and is
buried in Farmers Branch Cemetery. (5) Lois Ruth, born on 1-3-1912 in Bernie, Stoddard County,
Missouri. She married Stanley Benjamin Green. They had one son, Stanley Benjamin. Lois Ruth died in
Dallas on 12-12-1975 and is buried in Grove Hill Cemetery. (6) Albert Glen, born on 2-12-1915 in Hope,
Hempstead County, Arkansas. Albert married Lois Wilson. Their children are (i) Shirley, (ii) infant son
(born and died 1942); (iii) Mariene Elyn, (iv) an infant son (born and died 1944), and (v) Ronald Albert.
Albert Glen died in Dallas Texas on 10-18-1972. (7) Lena Bernice, born in 1918. Bernice married
Fletcher Morrison in Dallas, Texas on 4-14-1933. Lena Bernice died in 1991. They are the grandparents
of Christina Bannon, a co-author of this article.
Charles Edgar Cullins died at the age of 46 in a car accident on 4-22-1927 in Seagoville, Texas. His wife,
Amanda died in Dallas on 10-22-1961. They are buried in the Farmers Branch Cemetery near Dallas.
3. Ida Nona, born on 6-19-1887. Ida married Walter “Jess” Ray. Walter, born on 2-29-1880, was the son
of Albert Carrel and Louisa Madewell Ray. Ida and Walter lived in Malden, Missouri where Walter had a
Chevy Dealership. They were in Hempstead County, Arkansas at the time of the 1920 census. The
children in their 1920 household were: (1) Leila, born c. 1905; (2) Leo, born c. 1907; (3) Edith, born c.
1909; (4) Edna, born c. 1910; (5) Haecyn(?) born c. 1912; (6) Ruth, born c. 1914; (7) Sarah Louise, born
c. 1917; and (8) Pauline, born c. 1920.
At the time of the 1930 Census, Ida’s widowed Father, Albert Cullins, lived with her family. Ida Nona
Cullins Ray died in Hope, Arkansas on 7-15-1966.
4. Essie L., born on 7-18-1892. Essie, who’s name was possibly “Esther”, married Ryle Huddleston
(1885-1963). There children were: (1) Alma, born 1910 in Missouri; (2) Opal, born 1-26-1911, who died
on 5-20-1914 in Bernie, Stoddard County, Missouri; (3) Willie, born on 7-23-1913 in Bernie, who died on
8-7-1915 in Bernie; (4) Wilma, born 1924 in Bernie.
5. Bessie R., born in May 1895. Bessie was the only child living in her parents’ household in 1910.
Bessie married Druey Phillips (1892-1969). The children in their 1920 household were: (1) Clyde, born in
1913 in Missouri, and (2) Drury Junior, born 5-16-1918 in Arkansas, who died in August 1981 in
Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Bessie Cullins Phillips died in June 1969 in Hope, Arkansas.
THE FAMILY OF JOHN HENDERSON JOHNSON
OF GREENE COUNTY, TENNESSEE
This article is dedicated to Lela Sims Boyles (1901-2000), a granddaughter of Dr. John Henderson
Johnson, by whose tireless efforts documented his descendants, and to Dr. Joseph Robert Williams
(born 1912), the last surviving grandchild of Dr. John Henderson Johnson.
Co-written with Lee Johnson, donaldejohnson@verizon.net
John Henderson Johnson was born in Greene County, Tennessee on 11-30-1829. He was the son of Zopher
Junior and Phebe Cooper Johns(t)on. Shortly after the 1850 census, John married Sarah Graham on 10-30-
1850 bond by Ephraim Carter. Sarah Jane Graham (pronounced as “Grimes” in the East Tennessee
dialect), was born on 11-20-1832. She is believed to be the daughter of John Graham, born c. 1785, and his
first wife. John Graham/Grimes remarried on 4-20-1833 to Rebecca Johnson, who is believed to be a
daughter of John and Caty McKahen Johns(t)on. At the time of the 1850 Greene County Census, Sarah,
age 17, was unmarried and in the household of John Graham and his second wife, Rebecca. The name of
John Graham’s first wife is uncertain; however, she could have been Sally (Sarah) Johns(t)on. The John
and Rebecca Graham Family is the only Graham/Grimes household in 1850 Greene County, Tennessee, to
have a young female named Sarah of marriageable age.
It is strongly believed that John Henderson Johnson and Sarah Graham were cousins. John’s Aunt
Sarah/Sally Johns(t)on, married a John Graham in Greene County, Tennessee in 1806, and the Graham
Families were near neighbors of the Johns(t)on Families who resided in District 12. John Graham acted as
marriage bondsmen for several marriages of the Zopher Johns(t)on Families. For further information on
the relationship between the Graham and Johns(t)on Families, please refer to the separate articles on The
Family of Zopher Johnston Senior, The Family of John and Caty McKahen Johns(t)on and The
Family of Eliakim and Nancy Long Graham Cox.
Shortly after the 1850 Census John and Sarah left Greene County, Tennessee. According to John’s 1919
obituary, they first migrated to Missouri before finally settling in Hamilton County, Illinois near John’s
parents, his brother, Christopher Cooper Johnson, and his sister, Jane, the wife of Hiram Johnson. It
would appear John and Sarah either accompanied or shortly followed the Christopher Cooper Junior family
who migrated late in 1851 or early 1852 and settled in Sullivan County, Missouri. The John and Rebecca
(Johnson) Graham Family also left about this same time. In 1855, the Campground Church was organized
in Christopher Cooper’s home and a John H. Johnson is listed as one of the organizing members. Rebecca
“Grimes”, the widow of John Graham, was also a member in 1855.
John was born late in 1829, and he should have been in the tax roster of 1851 having reached the age of 21.
Yet the first Tax Roster in which John appears is in 1852. John and Sarah’s first child, Zopher, was born in
Tennessee in September of 1851; thus, John and Sarah would have left Tennessee after that date. It
appears John and Sarah Johnson and possibly Sarah’s stepmother, Rebecca Graham (“Grimes”)
accompanied the Christopher Cooper Junior Family when they migrated to Sullivan County, Missouri.
John and Sarah, with their infant son, Zopher, apparently returned to Tennessee in 1852 in anticipation of
his family’s impending migration. John appears in the 1853 Tax Roster, but not thereafter. John’s father,
Zopher Johns(t)on Junior, and his older brother, Christopher Cooper Johnson, purchased their homestead
land in Hamilton County, Illinois in December 1853. There is no record of land purchased at that time by
John Henderson Johnson. John and Sarah are not in the 1855 State Census of Hamilton County, Illinois
and they appear to be in Missouri at that time. John and Sarah possibly left Missouri by 1856, and they
resided in the Knights Prairie Township of Hamilton County, Illinois where they were enumerated in the
1860 census.
In 1860, John’s profession was stated as “farmer and carpenter”. By 1870, John Henderson Johnson had
become a doctor, although he did not attend medical school. Dr. John was a “horse and buggy” doctor in
Hamilton and Franklin counties for many years. Later he also became a Minister. In 1863, Dr. John settled
Page 2
THE FAMILY OF JOHN HENDERSON JOHNSON
(Continued)
the Estate of his deceased brother, Christopher Cooper Johnson who died during the Civil War, and Dr.
John was granted custody of his brother’s minor children. The guardianship was later transferred to Enoch
and Jane (Johnson) Johnson because Dr. John and Sarah and their young family had once again gone to
Missouri.
On 3-12-1863, Dr. John‘s father, Zopher Johnson, deeded land to his only surviving son. The amount of
acreage is not stated in the Abstract of Title, but the description of the land as recorded in Deed Book O,
page 598, was located in the SWNW quarter of Section 30. This land would have been part of the original
homestead acreage purchased by Dr. John’s father in December of 1853. About one year later, on 3-23-
1864, Dr. John sold this land to John T. Campbell. The Abstract of Title for this deed does give the acreage
which was 45.64 acres and confirms the land was indeed part of the original homestead land purchased by
Zopher Johnson Junior. It is after this date that Dr. John and Sarah once again migrated to Missouri, albeit
for a very short period of time.
Dr. John and Sarah’s daughter, Lizzie Jane, was born on 8-9-1865 in Mercer County, Missouri. Mercer
County is adjacent to Sullivan County where the Christopher Cooper Junior Family lived, and it is also
adjacent to Grundy County where the James and Hila Martha Johnson Willis Family lived. Christopher
Cooper Junior was Dr. John’s maternal Uncle. Hila Martha Johnson Willis is believed to be Dr. John’s
sister. Dr. John and Sarah traveled briefly to northern Missouri following the Civil War to see his relatives
and Sarah’s stepmother, Rebecca “Grimes”. It is plausible that Dr. John’s father, Zopher Johnson Junior,
accompanied them. Perhaps Zopher Junior wanted to see his daughter, Hila Martha Johnson Willis, one
last time before his death in 1866 as well as Rebecca “Grimes”, who is believed to be Zopher Junior’s niece
(a daughter of John and Caty McKahen Johns(t)on).
Dr. John and Sarah had at least six children before Sarah’s death. Sarah Jane Graham Johnson died in
Illinois on 7-30-1869. Sarah is surely buried in an unmarked grave at the Methodist Church Cemetery in
Macedonia, Illinois. With so many children to care for, Dr. John quickly remarried on 12-26-1869 to
Talitha Cuma Sexton.
Dr. John and Talitha lived in Macedonia and Dahlgren. They were married for many years and had seven
children together. Dr. John died shortly before his 90th birthday on 6-19-1919. Talitha died on 4-15-1936.
Both are buried at the Methodist Church cemetery in Macedonia. Most of their children are also buried in
this cemetery.
At the time of Dr. John’s death in 1919, he was survived by eight of his thirteen children, thirty-two
grandchildren and twenty-nine great-grandchildren. Most of his descendants remained in southern Illinois,
and many still reside there today. One of these descendants was Lela Boyles (1901-2000) who provided
much of the information for the book, Early Johnsons of Hamilton County, Illinois by Reverend James
William Dupree. Because this family is extensively covered in this book with 25 pages devoted to Dr.
John’s descendants, only a brief summary of his children is given in this article. Persons who wish to know
more about Dr. John’s family should obtain a copy of the book from Reverend Dupree by writing to him at
804 Moore Drive, Americus, Georgia 31709-4747.
Information on Dr. John Henderson Johnson’s 13 children is taken from the research dated 1976 by his
granddaughter, Lela Boyles. The children known to be buried at the Macedonia ME Church
Cemetery are designated as “*”. The transcription of the Methodist Church Cemetery in Macedonia,
Illinois is available at our family website, www.johnsonfamilyhistory.org.
The six children of Dr. John Henderson Johnson and his first wife, Sarah Jane Graham “Grimes” Johnson,
were:
Page 3
THE FAMILY OF JOHN HENDERSON JOHNSON
(Continued)
1. Zopher*, born on 9-1-1851 in Greene County, Tennessee. Zopher, son of John Henderson Johnson,
was the last of the 250+ year men named Zopher Johns(t)on who were from Greene County, Tennessee.
Zopher married three times. His first wife was Mary Emma Boswell whom he married in Jefferson
County, Illinois on 3-14-1872. Zopher and Emma had two daughters: (1) Nora M., born on 5-4-1875,
who married Ed Morris. They had three children Evan, Mary and George Morris. Nora remarried to
Steven A. Daily on 4-16-1896. Nora Johnson Morris Daily died on 6-9-1952. (2) Myrtle*, born on 8-2-
1878, who married Emery Edward Tolley* (1868-1933) on 2-5-1899. They had four children: Harold,
Opal, Emery Junior* (1912-1937), and Mary Katherine* (1912-1924) Tolley. After Emery’s death, Myrtle
remarried to John Goin; and after his death she remarried to Ben Johnson. In 1963, Myrtle remarried a
final time to Fred Horrelle. No children are known from these later marriages. Myrtle Johnson Tolley Goin
Johnson Horrelle died on 11-23-1964 and is buried at the Methodist Church cemetery in Macedonia.
Zopher’s second marriage was to Julia A. Brooks on 12-31-1884, and they had a daughter: (3) Connie,
born on 9-4-1886, whose married name is not known. Connie died on 7-19-1966. Zopher and Julia also
had (4) an unnamed child who died in infancy.
Zopher’s third marriage on 10-21-1888 was to Lydia Mary Benson Hargraves/Hargrove* (1856-1948).
Lydia had two sons (Ellis and Elmer “Hargraves”) with her first husband, Flavius Josephus Hargrove.
Zopher and Lydia had three children: (5) Pernie Atlanta, born on 8-12-1889, who married William
Tolley. They had nine children: Macel, Emogene, Madeline, Dennison, Eullah, Roberta, Robert, Charles
Ray, Donald Lee and Bernadine Tolley. Atlanta Johnson Tolley died on 9-10-1965. (6) Verla Mason*,
born on 10-16-1891, who married Alva Campbell* (1892-1959). They had four children: Nadine,
Ivogene, Hobart and Geneva Campbell. Verla Johnson Campbell died on 7-4-1974. (7) Leon
Henderson*, born on 5-19-1895, who married Erma Verena Tate (1904-1993) on 11-10-1923 in
Pinckneyville, Perry County, Illinois. They have three children: Lee Edward, Jo Ann, and Carol Sue.
Leon Henderson Johnson was the sole descendant of Dr. John Henderson Johnson to continue the male
lineage. Leon’s son, Lee Johnson, lives in Carterville, Illinois, and is participating in our Johnson Family
DNA project. Lee is an avid Johnson Family researcher and has two children, Lee Ann and Don. Leon
Henderson Johnson died in Mt. Vernon on 5-28-1977 and is buried at the Methodist Church cemetery in
Macedonia. Erma Tate Johnson died in Centralia on 9-14-1993 and is buried at Richview Cemetery.
Zopher Johnson died in Illinois on 3-27-1932. He is buried at the Methodist Church cemetery in
Macedonia with his third wife, Lydia (1856-1948). He was the last namesake of Zopher Johns(t)on “the
Patriarch” of the Roaring Fork families of Greene County, Tennessee.
2. William, born on 11-7-1852, who died on 11-4-1858. His place of birth and death are not known.
3. Christopher Columbus, born on 9-10-1856 probably in Illinois. Christopher was the namesake of his
Uncle Christopher Cooper Johnson who died in 1862. Christopher married Anna Shelter before 1880. In
the 1880 census the young couple lived in Northern Township in Franklin County with no children in their
household. Anna died before 1900. In the 1900 census, Christopher still lived in Northern Township and
worked as a farm laborer. Although in 1900 Christopher said he was born in Missouri, his parents
consistently stated Christopher’s birthplace in Illinois in the 1860 and 1870 censuses. Christopher and
Anna are believed to have had three daughters, although none appear in their father’s 1880 or 1900
household: (1) Elizabeth “Libby”, who married a Mr. Warren. They had one son, Rayburn Warren, who
was raised by his Aunt Agnes. (2) Agnes, who married James McKenney. They did not have children.
(3) Amy, who married but her husband’s name is not known. Amy and Libby are lived in Minnesota.
Christopher Columbus Johnson cannot be found in the 1910 census. It is said he died on 6-17-1917. His
buried place has not been located.
Page 4
THE FAMILY OF JOHN HENDERSON JOHNSON
(Continued)
4. Nancy Ann*, born on 5-8-1859 in Illinois. Nancy married T. Douglas Kelley* (1857-1933). They had
five children: (1) Loretta, born c. 1878 who died in infancy; (2) John Oliver, born on 1-7-1880. He
married Laura Moss. They had seven children: Nancy, Roxie, Emmett, Rema, Ruth, Gladys, and Helen
Kelley. John Oliver Kelley died on 10-12-1951 and is buried in Antioch Church Cemetery in Hamilton
County. (3) George, born c. 1882. George married Neva Veneable and they had two sons: Gerald and
Patrick Kelley. (4) Flora Mae, born 1884, who married Clyde Miller and had two children: Cuma, who
died in childhood and Melvin Douglas Miller. After Flora’s husband died, she remarried to Walter Moore.
They did not have children. Flora and her second husband are buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Mt.
Vernon. (5)Willard H.*, born on 4-30-1895, who died as a young man on 3-4-1908.
Nancy Ann Johnson Kelley died on 10-8-1897. She and her husband are buried at the Methodist Church
cemetery in Macedonia.
5. John Logan born on 11-17-1861, who died in childhood on 12-6-1862. He is surely buried in an
unmarked grave at the Methodist Church cemetery in Macedonia.
6. Lizzie Jane*, born on 8-9-1865 in Modina, Mercer County, Missouri. Lizzie Jane married George A.
Bradford* (1856-1931). They had 5 children: (1) James Alexander*, born on 4-24-1884. He was a
doctor and did not marry. He died as a young man on 6-28-1917. (2) Iva Ellen, born on 9-5-1886. Iva
married Byron Todd and had one daughter, Ruth Todd. Iva Ellen died on 1-2-1976. (3) Ita Loretta,
born on 11-14-1892. Ita married Barney Roberson. They had three children: Freddie, Iva and Faye
Roberson. Ita died on 6-11-1975. (4) Irvin Hobert*, born on 8-1-1896. Irvin married Tommotine Hunt
and had one son, Henry Bradford. Irvin remarried to Bertha Warren. They had no children. Irvin Bradford
died on 11-4-1964. (5) Charlie Henderson, born on 4-28-1899. Charlie married Ruth Ketteman. They
had one daughter, Virginia. Charlie remarried a second time, but this wife’s name is not known. Charlie
Henderson Bradford died on 4-17-1939.
Lizzie Jane Johnson Bradford died on 10-4-1943. She and her husband are buried in the Methodist Church
Cemetery in Macedonia.
The children of Dr. John Henderson Johnson and his second wife, Talitha Cuma Sexton, were:
7. Minnie Louisa, born on 10-22-1870 in Illinois. Minnie married John Gervis Sims on 2-7-1894 in
McLeansboro, Illinois. They had eight children: (1) Luna Mason, born on 1-21-1895. Mason married
Ray Boyer and had two children: an unnamed son who died at birth and Charles Boyer. Mason died on 1-
21-1973 and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Franklin County. (2) Clyde Henderson, born on 2-11-
1897. Clyde married Maggie Lee and had two children, both of whom died at birth. Clyde died on 6-9-
1948 and is buried in Antioch Church Cemetery. (3) Guy Marion, born on 1-31-1899. Guy married
Marguerite Stelle and had a son, John Marion Sims. (4) Lela Corinne*, born on 4-12-1901. Lela married
Elbert Boyles* (1897-1991) on 1-17-1920. They have one daughter, Earlene Faye Boyles, who married
Bill Fisher. Earlene and Bill Fisher reside near Macedonia, Illinois. Lela Boyles was an avid Johnson
Family researcher, and through her efforts, she documented much of what we know about the John
Henderson Johnson family. Lela Sims Boyles died on 8-10-2000 and is buried at the Methodist Church
Cemetery in Macedonia with her husband. This article is dedicated to her. (5) Carroll Leonard, born on
11-18-1904. Carroll married Roxie Burnett. They did not have children. After her death in 1931, Carroll
remarried to Helen St. Clair. Carroll remarried a third time to Pauline Culbertson. Carroll died on 1-9-
1977 and is buried at Antioch Church Cemetery. (6) Mitchell Martin, born on 11-2-1906. Mitchell
married Faye Wayman and they had a daughter, Vera Louise and a son, James Everett Sims. Mitchell did
on 8-6-1964. (7) Casey Everett, born on 8-20-1909. Casey married Wilma Stewart. They have two sons,
Larry Joe and Gordon Wayne Sims. (8) an unnamed daughter, born on 2-6-1912, who died at three days.
Page 5
THE FAMILY OF JOHN HENDERSON JOHNSON
(Continued)
Minnie Johnson Sims died on 7-23-1962. She and her husband are buried in Antioch Church Cemetery in
Hamilton County. Many members of the Sims Family continue to reside in southern Illinois.
8. Winnie May*, born on 2-8-1872. May married James M. Moore* (1867-1956). James and May
Moore purchased the James A. Johnson farm in 1900 when he and his family left Macedonia and moved to
Mt. Vernon, Illinois. James A. Johnson was the nephew of Dr. John Henderson Johnson, thus he was a
first cousin to Winnie May Johnson Moore. James and May Moore had three children: (1) Ernest Otto,
born on 7-10-1893. He married Ruth Harper and had two sons, Wayne and Ernest Moore Junior. Ernest
(Senior) remarried to Bernice Ritcher and they had a daughter, Loleta Moore. Ernest Senior died on 3-21-
1961. (2) Leonard Ray*, born on 6-23-1895. Leonard married Ora Ethel Neal* (1897-1993). They have
a son, James, and a daughter Norma Moore. Leonard died on 2-11-1972. (3) Goldie Marie*, born on 12-
30-1900. Goldie married Evan H. Vise* (1899-1988). They had three sons, Evan Harvey, James and
Hosea Vise. Goldie Moore Vise died on 2-23-1961. The James A. Johnson farmhouse built before 1888
remained in the Vise Family until a few years ago.
Winnie May Johnson Moore died on 12-24-1950. She and her husband are buried at the Methodist Church
Cemetery in Macedonia.
9. Mary Etta*, born on 4-4-1874. Etta married Harrison Hutchcraft* (1872-1947) on 4-7-1892. They
had seven children: (1) Amos*, born on 2-7-1893. Amos married Rose Miller and had two sons, James and
Wayne Hutchcraft. Amos died on 7-24-1961. (2) Elbert*, born on 3-29-1895. Elbert married Ruth
Carlton and had a daughter, Aletta, and a son, Newell Edward Hutchcraft. Elbert Hutchcraft died on 11-9-
1973. (3) and (4), unnamed twins, born and died on 8-21-1897; (5) Harry, born on 7-8-1900. Harry
married Mildred Carlton. They have 7 children: Cristina, Paul, Charles, Ernie, Frank, Jimmy and Larry
Hutchcraft. Harry Hutchcraft died on 4-26-1980. (6) Otha, born on 9-9-1906; and (7)Errett Lowell, born
on 11-7-1910. Lowell married Nora Bennett. They have a daughter, Joann, and a son, Gary Hutchcraft.
Lowell Hutchcraft died on 3-23-1979.
Mary Etta Johnson Hutchcraft died on 1-15-1968. She and her husband are buried in the Methodist Church
cemetery in Macedonia. Many members of the Hutchcraft live in southern Illinois.
10. Clara Esther*, born on 5-2-1877. Clara married John Hankins* (1865-1941). They did not have
children. Clara Esther Johnson Hankins died on 11-19-1967. She and her husband are buried at the
Methodist Church cemetery in Macedonia.
11. John Huggard*, born on 2-26-1880. John married Gussie Barnett. They had two children: (1) Venita
Fern, born on 3-7-1901. Venita married Orin Smith. They had one son, Thurston Lyle Smith, born on 7-
5-1921, who died on 5-14-1935. (2) Lena, born c. 1903. After Gussie’s death, John remarried to Altha
Sink. John and Altha had one child who died in childhood. John remarried a third time to Ethel Jackson.
They had a son who died in infancy.
John Huggard Johnson died on 11-30-1922 and is buried in an unmarked grave at the Methodist Church
cemetery in Macedonia. In John’s 1922 obituary, his survivors were listed as his mother and wife. No
children were named.
12. Ada Lenora*, born on 4-5-1882. Ada married Joseph G. Williams* (1881-1951) who was a school
teacher in Franklin County. They have one son: (1) Dr. Joseph Robert Williams, born on 1-8-1912. Dr.
Williams lives in Benton, Illinois, and is 95-years young. Dr. Williams married Gertrude I. Weber. They
did not have children. Dr. Joseph Robert Williams is the last surviving grandchild of Dr. John Henderson
Johnson, and this article on the Dr. John Henderson Johnson Family is dedicated to him.
Page 6
THE FAMILY OF JOHN HENDERSON JOHNSON
(Continued)
Ada Lenora Johnson Williams died at the age of 32 on 2-1-1915. She and her husband are buried at the
Methodist Church cemetery in Macedonia.
13. Ella Ethel*, born on 4-7-1884. Ella married Omer L. Hays* (1882-1971). Ella and Omer had four
children: (1) Byford*, born in 1907, who died at the age of 12; (2) Wanda*, born on 8-13-1911. Wanda
married Taylor Neal. They have a son, Freddie Neal. Wanda died on 9-29-1967. (3) Lee Edsel, born on
11-29-1913. Edsel married Mary B. Payne. They have three children: Robert L., David I. and Richard P.
Hays. (4) Lowell*, born in 1918, who died in infancy.
Ella Ethel Johnson Hays died on 2-2-1962. She and her husband are buried at the Methodist Church
Cemetery in Macedonia.
We are fortunate to have two pictures of Dr. John Henderson Johnson (1829-1919), one with his second
wife, Talitha Cuma Sexton. Dr. John is the eldest member of the extended Johnson Families in Illinois,
Missouri and Tennessee for whom a picture is available. Dr. John was tall and slender, and he was a very
handsome man. These pictures are provided by Dr. John’s grandson, Dr. Joseph Robert Williams.
The obituary of Dr. John Henderson Johnson:
(Spelling and punctuation unchanged)
“ Dr. John H. Johnson, son of Zopher and Phoebe Johnson, was born in Green (sic) county Tennessee,
November 30, 1829, and went to his reward from his home near Macedonia, Illinois, June 20, 1919 (note
1), at the age of 89 years, 6 months and 20 days. He was married October 3, 1850 (note 2), to Sarah J.
Grimes (note 3). To this union six children were born, two of which, Zopher and Mrs. Lizzie Bradford, of
Macedonia, survive. His wife died July 20, 1869. He was married again, to Telitha C. Sexton, December
26, 1869. To this union seven children were born Mrs. Minnie L. Sims, Mrs. Winnie M. Moore, Mrs. Mary
E. Hutchcraft, Mrs. Clara Hankins, and John H. of Macedonia, Illinois, and Ella E. Hayes of Mt. Vernen
(sic) Illinois, survive to feel the loss of a kind and loving father. The deceased practiced medicine for over
52 years; his ear was always open to the calls of the suffering, night or day. His early life was spent in
Tennessee, and later moved to Missouri, and from there he came to Illinois, where he spent over 61 years
of his life. Dr. Johnson was known and respected by everyone in the community. His Christian life dates
back to his boy-hood days, he began serving the Lord nearly eighty years ago. He served him faithfully,
ever trusting and believing his word. He was a member of the M. E. Church. He heard God calling him to
the preaching of His word and was ordained about forty years ago. His whole life was one of submission to
his Heavenly Father’s will, but it shown more plainly during his last sickness. When suffering he would
say, “It is for the best, I am in the Lords hands.” His only desire to live was, to help his children make their
home in Heaven. He leaves to mourn their loss, a wife, eight children, thirty two grand children and twenty
nine great grand children. The funeral service was conducted by Rev. W. A. Sharp of Equality at the M. E.
Church in Macedonia.”
Transcriber’s Comments:
Note 1: John Henderson Johnson’s death date per his granddaughter, Lela Sims Boyles, is June 19.
Note 2: John Henderson Johnson and Sarah J. Graham married on 10-30-1850 in Greene County, TN.
Note 3: The Graham surname is pronounced in the East Tennessee dialect as “Grimes”. The phonetic
pronunciation of the surname was transported to both southern Illinois and to northern Missouri and is
often spelled as “Grimes”.
GEORGE W. GASS
OF GREENE COUNTY, TENNESSEE
Co-written with Imogene Gass Glass
George Wilburn Gass was born in Greene County, Tennessee on 2-23-1844. From the age of six and
perhaps before, George lived with the family of Zopher Johns(t)on Junior. George presumably migrated to
southern Illinois with the Zopher Johns(t)on Junior Family in 1853. At the time of the 1855 Illinois state
census, a young boy of the same age was in Zopher Junior’s household. In the 1860 census George still
lived with Zopher, who lived next door to the Middle Creek Johnson Family from Greene County.
The parents of George Wilburn Gass are uncertain. This enigma may never be resolved. We do not know
if he was orphaned or if he was abandoned or if neither were his situation. When George was married in
1863, George gave his father’s name as George W. Gass and his mother’s name as Johnson. He did not
know her first name. In his Civil War pension application, George said he had been a “poor orphan boy”.
The verbal “story” passed down through the generations of George’s descendants, says he came to Illinois
with his mother, two sisters, Sal and Kate, and a half-brother, John. This verbal “history” says that
George’s mother remarried and left southern Illinois with the two daughters and also had children with her
second husband, possibly settling in the Chicago area. George’s half-brother, John, returned to Tennessee.
No minor Gass females, born in Tennessee, are to be found in the 1860 census of Illinois or Missouri.
There is no record whatsoever of George’s “half-brother”, John Gass.
The documented facts are as follows. Firstly: George, age 6, and Sarah, age 3, were in the 1850 Greene
County, Tennessee household of Zopher and Phebe Cooper Johns(t)on. Also in their household were their
22-year-old unmarried daughter, Mary, and their 20-year-old unmarried son, John Henderson Johnson.
Secondly: Their neighbor was George W. Gass (1823-1884), who in 1850 was the unmarried head-of-
household with his younger unmarried sister Catherine Gass. This elder George W. Gass did not marry
until after 1868. He indeed married a Mary Ann Johnson (1846-1901), but she is not part of our Zopher
Johns(t)on Family that is known. Mary Ann was born in North Carolina. Her family did not come to
Greene County, Tennessee until about 1855, well after Zopher Junior’s family had left. Thirdly: George
W. Gass was a son of John M. Gass who died in 1845/1846. (John M. Gass was the son of Jacob Gass who
died in 1799). In the 1845 Tax List of District 12 were George W. Gass “son of John” and John M. Gass.
On 3-2-1846 George W. Gass was the Executor of the Estate of John M. Gass. In the 1848 and 1849 Tax
Lists of District 12, George is the “Administrator” for 174 acres of land. From 1850, George owned the
174 acres of land in District 12. On 4-6-1846, George W. Gass was appointed the guardian of Mary M.,
Catharine E. and Sarah J. Gass, “minor orphans”. These girls appear to be George’s young sisters. Fifthly:
On 8-11-1854, Catherine E. Gass “heir of John M. Gass” sold to George W. Gass by Quit Claim her one-
half undivided interest in the land she inherited from her father, John M. Gass. Sixthly: The Gass farm
was adjacent to that of Christopher Cooper Junior, who was the nephew of Phebe Cooper Johns(t)on.
When Christopher Cooper Junior sold the Cooper farm to John Stine on 2-2-1852, the description of the
farm mentions an “adjacent corner” to the heirs of John M. Gass, deceased, and to George W. Gass.
Lastly: John M. Gass married Esther Brown on 1-11-1844. This was his second marriage. John M. Gass
had first married Sarah Weems on 4-6-1820 (or 1822, both dates are in the Burgner Marriages book). On
1-5-1846 the Greene County Court set aside an allowance for his widow, Esther Brown Gass: “to lay off to
Esther Gass and Family of John M. Gass deceased, one year’s allowance….”. Esther Brown was a niece
of Zopher Junior’s mother-in-law, Jane Brown Cooper. Esther Brown Gass was the surviving widow of
John M. Gass, and the stepmother to George W. Gass (et al). Esther Brown Gass remarried on 12-10-1849
shortly before the 1850 census to John B. Hawkins. There were no Gass children in their 1850 Greene
County, Tennessee household or thereafter.
So, the unanswerable question remains: Was George W. Gass born in 1844, a grandson of Zopher and
Phebe Cooper Johns(t)on by their daughter, Mary? If not, was little George a son of Esther Brown Gass
and a half-brother to the elder George W. Gass? (This scenario seems to be unlikely because Esther’s
marriage took six place weeks before little George W. Gass was born, and Sarah who was age 3 in 1850
was born after the death of John M. Gass.)
Page 2
GEORGE W. GASS
(Continued)
The 1855 state census of Illinois supports the verbal family “history” in that in Zopher and Phebe’s 1855
household were an unmarried young woman (age 20-30), the same age as their daughter, Mary, as well as a
young boy (age 10-20), and two young females (both under the age of 10). The young boy would surely be
George W. Gass, and the two young females, appear to be his younger sisters, Kate and Sal Gass.
Another explanation is Zopher and Phebe were simply “kind souls” who took in orphaned children. One
can point to the 1860 Illinois census, when once again an “unidentified” young child, Sarilda Johnson age
2, lived with the elderly Zopher and Phebe.
The biggest uncertainty in my mind as to George’s mother is that he did not know her first name. Because
George lived with Zopher and Phebe at least from the age of six through the age of sixteen, why then, if
George was their grandson, would he have not known his mother’s name was Mary Johnson? I can come
up with only one reason: Mary Johnson, daughter of Zopher and Phebe, was not George’s mother. And if
she was not, then who was?
This brings us to the Middle Creek Johnson Family of William and Nancy Morgan Johnson with whom the
Zopher Johns(t)on family was closely intermarried, and who also came to Illinois. It is possible the mother
of little George W. Gass was from the Middle Creek Johnson Family of Greene County, Tennessee.
Two other Johnson Family members who did not come to Hamilton County, Illinois are also “possible
candidates” to be the mother of little George W. Gass. First, is Hila Johnson, born c. 1828, who is the
daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Cooper Johns(t)on. Joseph was a brother of Zopher Johns(t)on Junior.
Joseph’s wife, Elizabeth Cooper (deceased by 1850), was a sister to Zopher’s wife, Phebe Cooper. The
only record of Hila Johnson, a daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth, is the 1850 census of Greene County,
Tennessee. All of Joseph and Elizabeth’s children migrated to northern Missouri during the 1850’s;
however, no record of Hila has ever been found; not in post 1850 Tennessee and not in Missouri.
Another less likely, but possible candidate, is Mary Johnson Sample. Mary was the daughter of Zopher
Junior and Joseph’s older brother, John Johns(t)on. Mary Johnson, a daughter of John and Caty McKahen
Johns(t)on, was born about 1816. In 1839, Mary married Robert Sample. Robert Sample died before
1847. Mary and Robert’s young son, Samuel age 10 (born 5-9-1841), is in the 1850 household of his
grandparents, John and Caty Johns(t)on. The widow, Mary Johnson Sample, is not found in the 1850
census of Greene County. On 3-18-1852, Mary remarried to Alexander Rose (or Rice). Shortly after their
marriage, they migrated to Jefferson County, Illinois, just 30 miles or so from Hamilton County. Mary
Johnson Sample Rose was once again widowed by 1860, and she died about 1880. Mary Johnson Sample
Rose had two sons, Samuel and Robert Sample. The brothers were in Arkansas by 1872. Mary also had a
daughter, Elizabeth Rose (born about 1853), with her second husband. Mary Johnson, a daughter of John
and Caty, would seem to be the “perfect” candidate to be the mother of George W. Gass and his sisters, if it
were not for one, very large “problem”. In the autobiography written by Mary’s son, Samuel Sample, he
never mentions the Gass Family, nor does he mention any half-siblings named George, Sal or Kate Gass.
In the final analysis, it is possible George’s mother was not a Johnson at all.
One final “clue” might confirm that George W. Gass was not a grandson (and heir) of Zopher and Phebe
Cooper Johnson. On 5-1-1880, a Quit Claim deed to John F. and Cyrena C. Smothers was signed by
Zopher’s heirs to release his land in the SWNW part of Section 30-5-5 in the Knights Prairie Township.
This land was part of the original homestead farm purchased by Zopher in December 1853. Signing Quit
Claim deeds were Zopher’s only surviving son, John Henderson Johnson and his spouse; the only surviving
heir of Zopher’s deceased daughter Jane Johnson Johnson, who was Phebe Caroline Fisher and her spouse;
and three heirs of Zopher’s deceased son, Christopher Cooper Johnson, who were James A. Johnson,
Zopher A. Johnson and Elizabeth Jane Johnson Johnson and their spouses.
Page 3
GEORGE W. GASS
(Continued)
George W. Gass did not sign a Quit Claim deed, which seems to indicate he was not an heir of Zopher’s
deceased daughter, Mary. This land was then sold by Cyrena and John Smothers two months later on 7-19-
1880 to Mary Gass, the wife of George W. Gass. Oftentimes, the naming patterns of children disclose a
possible “family tie”. However, although having eleven named children, none of the names given to
George’s children have any association to the Zopher and Phebe Cooper Johnson family members, nor to
the Middle Creek Johnson family members, nor to the families of Zopher’s two brothers, John and Joseph.
Perhaps, George W. Gass, “orphaned” on or before the age of six, truly did not know who his parents were.
George W. Gass was a farmer, a wagon maker, and also did carpentry work and other odd jobs in Franklin
and Hamilton County, Illinois. Although a “poor orphan boy”, George did go to school and received an
education. At 19 years of age, George married Mary Sullivan in Hamilton County on 7-17-1863. Mary,
born on 11-10-1846, was the daughter of David Ramsey and Martha Campbell Sullivan. On 5-23-1864,
George enlisted with the 136th Illinois Infantry, Company F, to serve a tour of 100 days. He is described in
the enlistment records as being 5’8” tall, with dark hair, dark eyes and dark complexion. Like so many
soldiers, after his enlistment he became ill with dysentery in camp and was sent to the camp hospital.
George was honorably discharged at Springfield, Illinois on 10-22-1864.
After the War, George and Mary raised their large family of thirteen children, two of whom died in infancy.
After George was married, his financial prospects improved considerably, although his health suffered from
his 5-months stint in the Civil War camps. George and Mary lived most of their lives in Hamilton County
and Franklin County, Illinois, other than a short period of time in 1872 when they were in Dunklin County,
Missouri. (Research into the 1870 census of Dunklin County reveals no insight into George’s mother and
two sisters. No people with the Gass surname are in Dunklin County, Missouri in 1870.) On 7-30-1870,
George filed for an Invalid’s pension because of chronic diarrhea contracted during his Civil War service.
Dr. John Henderson Johnson, a son of Zopher Junior was one of George’s named physicians.
George’s wife, Mary Sullivan Gass, had assets of her own, probably inherited from her parents. George
and Mary owned several town lots in the town of Macedonia, and on 7-19-1880, Mary Sullivan Gass
purchased part of the original Zopher Johnson homestead farm in Section 30 of the Knights Prairie
Township that had previously been released by Quit Claim deeds from Zopher’s heirs, then sold to John F.
and Cyrena Smothers. The deed to the farm was in Mary’s name.
In the 1900 census, George and Mary stated they had 13 children, of whom ten were then living. Mary
Sullivan Gass died on 1-31-1916. George remarried to the widow, Amanda Means Tennison on 1-21-1918.
He remarried a third time to Lillie A. Guill, the widow of Jasper Guill, in Ewing, Illinois. George Wilburn
Gass died at the age of 87 years in Franklin County on 3-20-1931. He is buried with his first wife, Mary
Sullivan Gass, in the Methodist Church Cemetery in Macedonia. The children of George and Mary
Sullivan Gass were:
(* denotes those buried at the Methodist Church cemetery in Macedonia)
1. Sarah Ellen*, born on 8-3-1864, who married Joshua Lafayette “Josh” Brooks* (1859-1931) on 2-15-
1883. They lived in Macedonia and had seven children, of whom five can be identified: (1) Walter L.
Brooks*, born on 8-8-1887. He did not marry. Walter died in 1949. (2) Warner Clinton “Chick”
Brooks*, born on 1-30-1890, who married Florence Winemiller. Chick Brooks died on 1-13-1975.
(3) Cloyd B. “Dutch” Brooks*, born on 6-11-1891. He did not marry. Dutch Brooks died on 10-25-1979.
(4) Nellie*, born on 10-7-1897, who married Samuel Prather* (1892-1964) on 4-2-1920. They did not
have children. (5) Clifford Brooks*, born in 1898, who married Ada Holman*. Their children were:
Walter Clinton, Eathel Faye, June* Brooks, and a son who died in infancy.
Sarah Ellen Gass Brooks died in 1940.
Page 4
GEORGE W. GASS
(Continued)
2. David Newton*, born on 12-30-1865, who married Emma Ellen Clark* (1868-1945) on 8-19-1889.
Emma was the daughter of Moses Alexander and Sarah Jane Drew Clark. David and Emma had seven
children: (1) Wilburn Newton Gass*, born on 12-17-1891, who married Myrl Marie Frye (1902-1991) on
11-3-1920. They had two children, Robert Edgar and Audrey Della. Wilburn died on 9-28-1963.
(2) Mary Jane Gass*, born on 4-2-1894, who married Calvin Bennett* (1899-1967) on 10-3-1919. Two
sons are Everett* (1922-1980) and Evan* (1923-1923) Bennett. Mary Jane Gass Bennett died 5-30-1978.
(3) Rola Gass, who died at two years of age; (4) Edgar Gass, born on 8-3-1898, who married Duluth Alta
Drake (1900-1968) on 9-19-1923. They had two children, Emogene Faye Gass and Cletus Orvis Gass.
Emogene Fay Gass married Vernon Glass, a great-grandson of James A. and Minerva Adeline Carney
Johnson. Vernon and Emogene Gass Glass have three children, Randall Lee Glass, Bradley Dale Glass
and Elaine Leanne Glass Moore. Emogene is the recognized historian of the George W. Gass Family, and
she is the co-author of this article. Edgar Gass died on 10-1-1974. He and his wife are buried at Antioch
Church Cemetery in Hamilton County. (5) Norma Mae Gass, born on 11-30-1901, who married Floyd
Earl Mitchell (1902-1982) on 8-30-1921. They have three children: Raymond Edward, Harry Lee and
James Floyd Mitchell. Norma Mae Gass Mitchell died on 11-15-1981. She and her husband are buried at
the Denning Cemetery in Franklin County. (6) Hazel Della Gass*, born on 5-30-1903, who married
William Clarence Drew* (1899-1945) on 10-9-1920. They have two sons, Worn Earl and Clarence Drew
Junior. Hazel Della Gass Drew died on 1-8-1979. (7) Jimmie Gass, who died in infancy.
David Newton Gass died on 1-2-1944.
3. Martha Ann*, born on 1-13-1868, who married William Henry Blackward* (1855-1909) on 11-8-
1883. They had two children: (1) Rose Sedella Blackward, born on 12-17-1885. Rose first married
Charles Bishop. They had a son, Harry L. Bishop (1904-1978), buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Mt.
Vernon, Illinois. Rose then remarried to a Mr. Cragg. (2) Ben Blackward* (1888-1972), who married
several times. His first wife was Ethel Clark* (1887-1908). His second wife was Lillie Lewis* (1894-
1920). They had one son, Henry Ben Blackward* (1918-1928). Ben’s third wife was Myrtle McClellan*
(1902-1931). They had two children, William Mathew Blackward* (1922-1954) and Odessa Blackward,
who married Kenneth F. Keigley* (1923-1969). Ben’s fourth wife was Josephine Clark* (1914-1997 and
they had six children: Hilda, Rosemary, Herman, Jerry, Bennie Joe and Lawanna Kay* (1950-1958).
Martha Ann remarried to Andy Green*. No children are known from this second marriage. Martha Ann
Gass Blackward Green died in 1956.
4. Lettie Cathorine*, born on 1-14-1870, who married James Logan Hutchcraft* (1867-??) on 10-19-
1890. They lived in St. Louis, Missouri. They had two children: (1) Herman Hutchcraft* (1891-1935)
and (2) Earl Hutchcraft* (1895-1968).
Lettie Cathorine Glass Hutchcraft died on 2-22-1924.
5. Unnamed Infant, who died at birth.
6. Mary Etta, born on 7-21-1875, who married Richard Campbell on 7-31-1890. They lived in St. Louis.
7. Unnamed Infant, who died at birth.
8. George Wilburn (Junior) “Webb”, born on 9-2-1878, who married Flora Gertrude “Gertie”
Blackledge on 10-13-1901. They had five children: (1) Louis H. Gass (1903-1966). Louis married Cleo
Bush in 1921. They had six children: Hazel Dean, Louis Jr., Billie Gene, Odes, Ramona, and an infant son
Gass. Louis remarried to Ruth Dawson. With his second wife he had one daughter, Phyllis Joyce Gass.
Page 5
GEORGE W. GASS
(Continued)
(2) Dwight Gass (1906-1985). Dwight married Callie, surname unknown, and they had one son, Virgil
Wayne Gass. Dwight remarried to Alma Frazier on 9-16-1934. They did not have children. (3) George
Gass (3rd) (1909-1976). George married Irene Mitchell. They had eight children: Wilburn “Buster”,
Shirley Ann, George Wayne, Jerry, Barbara Sue, Donnie, Joe, and Gloria K. Gass*, born and died in
infancy. (4) Gladys Gass (1911-1993). Gladys married Welcome Wheatley on 2-14-1929. They had one
daughter, Mary Lou Wheatley. (5) an infant son, born and died 1905.
George Wilburn Gass Junior died in 1968. He and his wife are buried at the Denning Cemetery in West
Frankfort, Illinois, with several members of their family.
9. Bertha Myrtle, born on 12-15-1881, who married Edward Carter on 3-18-1901. They lived in Tuscola,
Illinois and later in Indianapolis, Indiana. No children are known. Bertha Myrtle Gass Carter died in
Indiana and is buried there.
10. Bessie A.*, born on 6-19-1883, who married James Wilford Edwards* (1878-1947) on 9-3-1902.
They had four children: (1) Ralph Edwards, (1903-1978). He married Ruby Tharp Anderson. Ruby had
one son, Russell Ray Anderson, with her first husband, Russell Anderson. Ralph and Ruby had two
children together, Melvin and Marlene Edwards. (2) Lena Edwards* (1906-1910); (3) Noble Edwards
(1908-1971). He married Evelyn R. VanHorn. They had two sons, Charles Edwards and Evan Edwards
(1947-1947). Nobel’s family is buried at Walnut Grove Cemetery near Ewing, Illinois. (4) Bessie (1910-
1994). Bessie married Fred Walker on 5-31-1933. They had three children: Ramona, Mary Lou and
Arthur Frederick* Walker. Bessie is buried at Windsor Cemetery in Windsor, Illinois.
Bessie A. Gass Edwards died at the age of 27 on 8-7-1910.
11. Nellie Belle, born on 7-19-1885, who married Charlie Edgar Campbell on 10-16-1901and lived in St.
Louis. No children are known.
12. John M., born on 11-10-1887, who apparently had died before 1900.
13. Maud L., born on 3-7-1889, who married Edgar West on 9-24-1905 and had children, Joe and Birdie.
Many efforts by different researchers have been expended to identify the father of George W. Gass, born on
2-23-1844. To date, none of these efforts has proven to be definitive. At the time of the 1850 census of
Greene County, Tennessee, there were no less than five and possibly six men named “George Gass” of
adult age.
Equally as “popular” as the name of “George Gass”, is the name of “John Gass”. The first John Gass
(1758-1840) is the Revolutionary War soldier. In the 1830 Census, there are three heads of household
named John Gass. In the 1836 Civil Districts Roster there are five men named John Gass.
One problem that exacerbates the study of the Gass Families of Greene County, Tennessee is many of the
Gass males died fairly young, well before the first fully enumerated census of 1850. Between the years of
1831 to 1850, all of the first generation and most of the “second generation” Gass males had died. By the
time of the 1850 Census, several of the “third generation” had died. Hence, there are numerous widows
and orphans to be found in the census records of Greene County. In the 1840 Census, of the ten Gass
households, three are headed by widows. In the 1850 Census, of the seventeen Gass households, seven are
headed by widows and one household was headed by a Gass orphan.
Page 6
GEORGE W. GASS
(Continued)
Fortunately, because the Gass Families were among the wealthiest families of Greene County and large
land owners, many of the men left Wills, and most all of them had Estate Inventories. Yet, because they
tended to use the same names for their children (George, John, William and James), it remains a difficult
problem to sort-out “who is who”.
Whether or not little George W. Gass born on 2-23-1844 was actually a son of an elder George W. Gass, as
he so stated in 1863 is in reality debatable. “Orphaned” by the age of six, it is entirely possible little
George remembered his neighbor of this same name, and he simply presumed the older George W. Gass
was his father. It is equally possible that when George was “pressed” in 1863 to name his father for his
marriage license, George simply gave this name to avoid the embarrassment of stating his father was
“unknown”. Adding further confusion as to not stating his mother’s complete name on the marriage license
is that Zopher Johnson Junior was still living at this date. If George’s mother was indeed Mary Johnson, a
daughter of Zopher Johnson Junior, why then would he have omitted this information?
It is beyond the scope of this book to include a comprehensive discussion of the Gass Families of Greene
County, Tennessee. However, at the end of this article I have included brief information on the earliest
Gass Families who appear in the Greene County, Tennessee records. One of these males would surely be
the ancestor of little George W. Gass who came to Illinois in 1853. The information has been compiled
from authoritative sources, but I have included “comments” of my own as to “who” certain individuals may
be. My “comments” to some degree are subjective and may change as heretofore undiscovered documents
are found. A comprehensive “study” of the Gass Families of Greene County, Tennessee will be published
at a later date in the Greene County Genealogy Society’s publication, The Pioneer.
Selected affidavits from the Civil War pension file of George W. Gass follow on the next pages.
Page 7
GEORGE W. GASS, CLAIM FOR INVALID PENSION:
CERTIFICATE 169052, PENSION 263078
Pension affidavits transcribed by Emogene Gass Glass:
“State of Illinois Hamilton County,
On this 30th day of July A.D.1870 personally appeared before me, Clerk of the County Court a court of
record, within and for the County and state aforesaid, George W. Gass aged Twenty Six years, a resident of
Hamilton County in the state of Illinois who being duly sworn according to law, declares that he is the
identical George W. Gass who enlisted in the service of the United states as a Private in Company F,
commanded by Captain Linsey W. Cremeens in the Regiment commanded by Col. Frederick A. Johns
Volunteers, in the war for the suppression of the Southern Rebellion, and was honorably discharged on the
22nd. day of October in the year 1864; that while in the service aforesaid, and in the line of duty, he
contracted and become affected with a palpitation of the Heart and with the Chronic Diarrhea, That he
became so affected, with both of said complaints at Columbus, Tennessee and was treated in the
Regimental Hospital in said place.
He further states, that since his discharge he has resided in Hamilton County, Illinois and that his
occupation has been light farm work. He makes this declaration for the purpose of being placed on the
Invalid Pension Roll of the United States, by reason of the disability above stated, and hereby constitutes
and appoints C.A. Heard of McLeansboro, ILL. his attorney, with full power of substitution, to prosecute
this claim, and to receive from the Department his Pension Certificate when issued.
George W. Gass
Sworn to and subscribed before me, the day and year first mentioned and on the same day also, personally
appeared Mark Harper and Gideon Harrelson, residents of Hamilton County, Illinois persons whom I
certify to be respectable, and entitled to credit, and who being duly sworn say that they were present and
saw George W. Gass sign his name to the foregoing declaration; and they further swear, that they have
every reason to believe, from the appearance of the applicant, and their acquaintance with him, that he is
the identical person he represents himself to be; that he is a person of good habits, and has been since his
discharge from the army and that they deponents, do reside in the County aforesaid, and are disinterested in
this claim for a Pension.
Mark Harper
Gideon Harrelson”
“State of' Illinois Hamilton County,
On this 19 day of August, A.D. one thousand eight hundred and seventy eight personally appeared before
me, clerk of' the Hamilton County Court a court of record within and for the county and State aforesaid,
George W. Gass, aged 34 years, a resident of the Town of Macedonia, County of Hamilton, State of
Illinois, who, being duly sworn according to law, declares that he is the identical George W. Gass who
enrolled on the 23rd day of May, 1864, in company F of the 136th regiment of ILL Vols commanded by
Capt. Linsey W. Cremeens, and was honorably discharged at Springfield, ILLs. on the 22nd day of
October, 1864; that his personal description is as follows; age 34 years; height, 5 feet 8 inches; complexion,
dark; hair, dark; eyes, dark. That while a member of the organization aforesaid, in the service and in the
line of his duty at Columbus, in the state of Kentucky on or about the 1st day of July, 1864, he contracted
Chronic Diarrhea and Palpitation of Heart, caused from exposure on duty of cool nights and Hot days, and
the indigestibility of food That he was treated in hospitals as follows: The Soldiers home by the
Regimental surgeon for most of the time from 1st. July to 1st. of October 1864.
PROOF OF DISABILITY
Sent to the Soldiers home on account of the Hospital being then full and was receiving treatment most all
the time from then to the 1st of October, by the Regimental Surgeon.”
Page 8
GEORGE W. GASS, CLAIM FOR INVALID PENSION:
CERTIFICATE 169052, PENSION 263078
“State of Illinois Hamilton County,
On this 31st day of October A.D. 1879, Personally appeared before me E.R. Vise a Notary Public within
and for the county and State aforesaid George W. Gass Claimant for pension No. 263078 who being duly
sworn says: That for 10 years immediately proceeding his enlistment into the Service of the United States,
he resided in Macedonia, Hamilton County, ILL. and the immediate vicinity being a poor orphan boy and
having no particular home he lived at first one place and then another as he could get the chance, all the
time however within the radius of a few miles. That Subsequent to his discharge he has resided in and
around Macedonia, Ills. with the exception of about three months spent in Dunklin County, MO. in the fall
of 1872.
That on or about the 1st day of July 1864 while in the Service of the United States at Columbus, Ky he
contracted Chronic Diarrhea followed in a short time by an attack of Indigestion and Palpitation of the heart
which Said disability he has had ever since and which did at the time render him unable to perform Soldiers
duty and that on account thereof he was ordered to, and did turn over-to the proper custodian, his gun and
equipage, and was never able after the attack to do any more duty. That the disability has affected him more
or less seriously ever since then being times at irregular periods, when he could work some, and then
corresponding periods of complete inability to perform any manual labor.
That it is impossible for him to give any approximations to dates wherein he has received treatment for the
aforesaid disability having been under the care and advice of some one or other physician for most of the
time since his discharge. That he has been treated for the disability here-in set forth by the following
physicians at different times and by the same physicians at separate times. (to wit)
Dr. J.A. Wilkey Palo Alto Hamilton County, ILL
Dr. Newton Mt. Vernon Jefferson County, ILL
Dr. J.H. Johnson Dahlgren Hamilton County, ILL
Dr. J.T. Hunt Macedonia Hamilton County, ILL
That he has not had Since the incurrence of his present disability any acute attacks of disease, unless the
continued recurring paraxysms of his existing disability could be so construed. That his present occupation
is wagon maker, that he has since his discharge labored some on farm, House Carpentering and any job he
could obtain when able to work. That he has not been able to make a hand at labor, one third of his time
since his discharge, has never been since then able to make a full time hand at any ordinary manual labor.
That it is impossible for him to give dates, as to the times of his being prevented from following his usual
occupation, as they have occurred so frequently, such periods occurring at least once, and sometimes twice
monthly lasting from a few days, to, in some instances three fourths of the month.
George W. Gass
E.H. Vise, Notary Public”
Page 9
GEORGE W. GASS, CLAIM FOR INVALID PENSION:
CERTIFICATE 169052, PENSION 263078
“DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
GEORGE W. GASS
BUREAU OF PENSIONS
Date and place of birth? Feb. 23, 1844, Greeneville, Greene Co. Tenn Co.
Served? "F", 136th Ill. Infantry
Post Office at enlisment? Macedonia, IL
Wife’s name? Mary Sullivan Gass
Married? 17day of July, 1863, Hamilton Co. ILL
by Geo. Richardson M.G.
Marriage recorded? McLeansboro, ILL. Recorders Office.
Previously married? No.
Wife previously married? No.
Children, living or dead?
Sarah Ellen Gass Aug. 3, 1864
David Newton Gass Dec. 30, 1865
Martha Ann Gass Jan. 13, 1868
Lettie Cathorine Gass Jan. 14, 1870
Mary Etta Gass Jul. 21, 1875
George Wilburn Gass Sep. 2, 1878
Bertha Myrtle Gass Dec. 15, 1881
Bessie A. Gass Jun. 19, 1883
Nella Belle Gass Jul. 19, 1885
John M. Gass Nov. 10, 1888 (See Note)
Maude Gass Mar. 7, 1889
Two children died in infancy--no record kept--never named. Died just short time after birth.
March 8, 1915 George W. Gass”
Transcriber’s comment:
John M. Gass was actually born Nov. 10, 1887, not 1888 as stated above.
George W. Gass’ surviving widow, Lillie Guill Gass, applied for a Widow’s Pension in June 1931:
“State of Illinois, County of Hamilton.
Personally appeared before me a Notary Public in and for the aforesaid county and State Rev. K.W. Ingram
who first being duly sworn according to law declares in relation to the claim for widow’s pension by Lillie
Gass, widow of the George W. Gass, late of Co. "F”: 136th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, War of the
Rebellion who was a pensioner under certificate No. 169,052 and who died on the 20th day of March, A.D.
1931 that his post office address Macedonia, IL and that his age is 79 years and that he has been acquainted
with the claimant for several years before her first marriage to Jasper Guill and know that she was never
previously married and that she lived with the said Jasper Guill till his death and afterward she was married
to George W. Gass.
Rev. K. W. Ingram”
Page 10
GASS FAMILIES OF GREENEVILLE
Co-written with Sherry Britton
Tennessee did not achieve statehood until 1796. Prior to that time the area of Greene County was part of
North Carolina. Some of the original Gass Brothers may well have been in this area as early as 1777. John
Gass Senior was a documented Revolutionary War Soldier of North Carolina. He was a Sgt. Major, a
position of importance. John was not an “ordinary foot soldier” (private), even though he was only a very
young man at the time of the Revolution. This fact is significant because John’s Rank infers a degree of
status and wealth. Another indication of the prosperity of the Gass Family of Ireland is that John and his
brother, James, were Masons. John Gass also carried the title of “Esquire”.
The first tax list of Greene County is the year 1783. John Gass Senior is in this list as is a Thomas Gass.
The relationship of these two men is not known, however, it is extremely probable they were brothers.
They were the first of their family to arrive in the Colonies from Ireland. The younger brothers and their
Mother, followed. “Mother Gass” is mentioned in the Will of her son, Jacob Gass who died in Greene
County in 1799. Three men are documented sons of “Mother Gass”: John (1758-1840), Jacob (died 1799)
and James (1773-1842). Other men who are in Greene County could also be sons. This we do not know.
A brief summary is given for the Gass men who are in Greene County, Tennessee by 1800.
JOHN GASS ESQUIRE (1758-1840)
John Gass was born in County Down, Ireland on 3-25-1758. John is one of two Gass men found in the first
tax list of Greene County in 1783. Information on John’s first wife and the names and dates of birth of
their children are taken from the Family Bible. John’s first wife and the mother of his children was
Margaret Wagner (born 5-10-1765), whom he married on 2-23-1780. Margaret died in 1829. John
remarried to Betsy Rankin (born 8-30-1774) on 8-26-1830. Betsy was John’s surviving Widow and drew a
pension under John’s Revolutionary War service. John Gass died on 6-14-1840. After the death of his last
son in 1836, John wrote a very elaborate Will. In this Will he directed that after his wife’s death, his slaves
should be sent to a free state, and he gave each of them $100 to enable their new lives. He directed that the
Gass Graveyard should be fenced. This grave yard is now part of the Mount Pleasant Cumberland
Presbyterian Church Cemetery known as “Cross Anchor”. John specified all of his land and assets were
then to be sold, with the proceeds used to establish the Gass School. Lastly, he gave explicit instructions
for his burial. John’s surviving widow was Betsy Rankin Gass, who died on 5-29-1862.
Most of John’s children predeceased him. As for his son John Junior, he states Junior had “mismanaged”
his assets, and Senior made special bequests to John Junior’s children because of this. John Gass Senior,
both of his wives, and three of his four sons are buried in the old part of the Cross Anchor Church
Cemetery. The oldest part of this Cemetery was originally called “Gass Shed”. The location of the Gass
graves is in the farthest corner of the cemetery across the paved road from the present-day Church. Many
tombstones are in this section and a large number are so old they are no longer readable.
The children of John and Margaret Gass were:
1. William Gass, born 4-3-1786 (1780?). A transcription of the Family Bible gives William’s year of
birth as 1786. William died on 7-25-1809. The Estate Inventory was taken on 7-23-1810 by John Gass,
“Administrator”. William owned a general store and his partner was H. B. Gass, his younger brother. In
1811, John Gass Senior was named as the guardian for William’s minor orphans: (1) (Harvey?) John Gass,
b. 3-25-1801?; (2) Margarette Gass; (3) Ann Gass (d. 7-17-1814?); (4) Elizabeth Gass; (5) Nancy Gass (b.
10-20-1804?); and (6) Martha Gass (b. 2-26-1807?); and (7) Margaretta King (1801-1847, m. 5-26-1819
Thomas Jones). John Senior made only one bequest to this Family to Margaretta King Jones. To have six
children by 1810, infers a marriage by 1800, which could infer William’s year of birth c. 1780.
Page 11
GASS FAMILIES OF GREENEVILLE
(Continued)
JOHN GASS ESQUIRE (1758-1840)
(Continued)
2. Mary “Polly” Gass, born 4-3-1786 (1880??), twin to William. Mary married Samuel Young Balch on
11-2-1802. Polly was deceased before May 1847.
3. Agnes Gass, born 2-23-1781 . She married John King on 12-31-1800. John and Agnes were deceased
by 1810 and had one known child, Margaretta King who was a named orphan of Agnes’ brother, William
Gass who died in 1809. Margaretta King, born 11-2-1801, married on 5-26-1819 to Thomas Jones. She
died on 9-23-1847, buried Mt. Tabor Cemetery.
4. George, born 4-14-1782. George married Sarah Farnsworth on 3-6-1806. George first appears in the
1805 Tax List. In the 1810 tax list he is shown with 70 acres of land. George died in 1814 and is buried at
Cross Anchor Cemetery near his parents under “G. Gass”. No Will has been found for George Gass;
however, on 9-7-1815, Hugh Maloney brought a lawsuit before the Greene County Court against the heirs
of George Gass, deceased. Until the lawsuit was settled, the children’s grandfather, John Gass Senior, was
appointed their guardian. The children of George and Sarah Farnsworth Gass were: (1) Alexander
McAlpen Gass (m. Sarah Britton); (2) Peggy Gass, who married William “Britten” (Britton) Junior on 7-
22-1828; (3) John Gass and (4) George M. Gass (m. Margaret Carter) born 1-17-1814; died 4-25-1884
buried Cross Anchor. Also buried at Cross Anchor are “N. M. Gass d. 1815” and “? Gass d. 1815”. These
may be children of George and Sarah. Only three of their children were living by May 1847. George’s
widow, Sarah, remarried on 2-20-1817 to John E. Hankins. Sarah had three children (Mary, Nancy and
John E. Hankins) with her second husband. George’s son, George M. Gass (Junior), became one of the
founders of the Gass Families of Greeneville. The transcription of the Cross Anchor Cemetery, says for
George M. Gass “parents of Elija, David, George, Thomas, James, Joe, Mary, Nancy, Sarah and Margaret”.
The transcription also has the notation “Virgil Gass’ father”. In recent times, the original Roaring Fork
farm in District 12 of Zopher Johns(t)on Senior, the Revolutionary War Soldier, was owned by Virgil Gass.
5. John Gass Junior, born 1-7-1784. John married “Betsy” Milburn (died after 1860) on 6-1-1816. John
also died fairly young. Buried at the Cross Anchor Cemetery is “J. Gass died 1833”. On 10-30-1833, John
Gass Senior was appointed the guardian of John Junior’s children. These children were: (1) David Gass;
(2) William Gass; (3) Hezekiah Balch Gass, born 8-29-1824; died 3-14-185x buried Cross Anchor;
(4) John Gass, born c. 1825, who apparently did not marry and died between 1861-1869; (5) George Gass;
and (6) Peggy Gass (unmarried by May 1847). In John Senior’s 1837 Will he made bequests to each of
John Junior’s children. For John Senior’s grandson John (3rd), Senior stated “he may never be an active
man”. John Senior gave his grandson David a 150 acre farm known as Salt Peter Cave.
6. Jane “Jenny” Gass, born 1-16-1790. Jane married David Farnsworth on 1-22-1806. Jane was
deceased by May 1847 with five children living.
7. Hezekiah Balch Gass, born 8-2-1791. Hezekiah married Sarah Britton, the daughter of George and
Eleanor Bailey Britton. The marriage is not in Greene County records. He died in 1836 and is buried at
Cross Anchor. The administrator of his estate was Charles Gass. The Orphan Court record dated 10-4-
1841 named Er Babb as the guardian of Hezekiah’s children: (1) George Gass, born c. 1823; (2) John
Francis Gass, born c. 1825; (3) William Carle Gass, born c. 1828; (4) Margaret Gass, born c. 1830;
(5) Mary Ann Gass, born c. 1834; (6) Hezekiah B. Gass Junior, born c. 1832; and (7) James A. Gass, born
c. 1836. Hezekiah’s widow, Sarah, died in Greene County after 1880 at which time she lived with her
youngest son James A. Gass. The sons of Hezekiah Balch Gass established a major branch of the Gass
Families of Greeneville.
Page 12
GASS FAMILIES OF GREENEVILLE
(Continued)
JOHN GASS ESQUIRE (1758-1840)
(Continued)
8. Margaret “Peggy” Gass, born 4-19-1793, Margaret married William Ross Junior (1790-1865) on 12-
29-1813. Peggy is buried at Mt. Bethel Cemetery with her husband, but her date of death is not readable.
9. Nancy Ann Gass, born 11-30-1796. Nancy married James Doherty on 12-4-1821. Nancy Ann was
dead by May 1847, with only one child, Martha Doherty, living.
10. Elizabeth Gass, born 5-17-1798, who appears to have died in infancy.
11. Elizabeth Gass, born 7-6-1799, who died on 9-6-1819.
12. Martha Allen Gass, born 2-26-1807. Martha married John Weems on 1-21-1830. Martha was dead
by May 1847, with two children living.
At the time of John’s 1837 Will, all of John Gass Esquire’s children with the exception of Margaret, wife of
William Ross (Junior), may have either predeceased him or moved away. Margaret Ross was the only
child to receive a specific bequest. All of the other bequests to John Senior’s children were to “the family
of”.
THOMAS GASS (BORN BEFORE 1762)
We do not know if Thomas was a brother of John Gass Esquire (died 1840), Jacob Gass (died 1799) and
James Gass (died 1842), but we do know only John and Thomas Gass are found in the first tax list of 1783
of Greene County, Tennessee. This is the only record in which Thomas Gass appears. He does not marry
in Greene County, and he never again appears in a tax list. It appears, Thomas migrated elsewhere,
possibly Virginia.
JACOB GASS (DIED 1799)
We do not know when Jacob Gass was born. We do know he was the first brother to die. According to the
book, First Families of Tennessee, published by the Tennessee Historical Society, Jacob Gass was born in
Dromore, Ireland. His wife was Mary, whom he may have married before his migration to America. The
first record in which Jacob is found is in the 1792 Greene County Court minutes. Jacob is in a tax list for
the first time in 1796 when he owned 113 acres of land in the Captain Edward Tate Company. This area
was the Cross Anchor/Roaring Fork area of northern Greene County.
Jacob died as a young man. He signed his Will on 6-18-1799, and the Will was probated in October. In
his Will, Jacob named his wife, Mary, and six children, with a seventh being unborn at the date of his Will.
(The unborn son was John M. Gass, who died in 1845/46.) Jacob’s widow, Mary, is found in the tax list of
1800 owning the 113 acre farm. In 1812, their oldest son, William, owned the farm. Jacob and Mary are
surely buried at “Gass Shed” (Cross Anchor Church cemetery). The children of Jacob and Mary Gass
were:
Page 13
GASS FAMILIES OF GREENEVILLE
(Continued)
JACOB GASS (DIED 1799)
(Continued)
1. William Gass, born c. 1790. He first entered the tax list in 1812 (age 21). William married Nancy
Reynolds on 5-30-1811. William signed his Will on 6-28-1847. The Estate Inventory was taken on 3-6-
1848. William’s executors were sons William and Joseph Gass. No wife was named, thus his wife had
predeceased him. William and Nancy’s children were: (1) Jacob, born c. 1812-1815, who witnessed the
marriage of his sister Sarah Gass Keys in 1836; (2) Joseph Gass, born c. 1821; (3) William Gass, born c.
1824; (4) Alexander Gass, born 1828, died 1874 Cross Anchor; (5) George Gass, born c. 1831; (6) Nancy
Gass, born c. 1833; (7) John M. Gass, year of birth not known, who had left Greene County as stated in his
father’s 1847 Will; (8) Polly Gass; and (9) Sarah Gass Keys, who married Alfred Keys on 11-22-1836.
Sarah Gass Keys was deceased before 1847 when her “heirs” are named in their Grandfather’s Will. The
sons of William Gass, a son of Jacob, established the third major branch of the Gass Families of
Greeneville.
2. Jacob Gass Junior. Jacob married “Highly” (Hiley) Ross on 11-27-1827. Jacob died before 10-2-1843
when his widow’s dower was set off. Hiley and their children are in the 1850 Census. Their children
were: (1) Elliot Gass, born c. 1829; (2) John Gass, born c. 1835; and (3) Rebecca Gass, born c. 1841. The
burial place of Jacob Gass Junior is not known. Hiley Ross Gass died in 1873 and is buried at Oak Grove
Cemetery. Hiley’s year of death in 1873 is unusual because the Oak Grove Cemetery was not chartered
until 1883. However, Hiley Ross Gass is not found in the 1880 Greene County census.
3. Jane Gass, born c. 1780, who married Clairborne Dugger on 1-27-1801 (or 1808??), both dates are in
the Burgner Marriages book.
4. Margaret Gass, born c. 1790, who married Thomas Justice on 5-10-1810.
5. Sarah Gass, for whom no information is available.
6. Susanna Gass, born c. 1797/8, who married Dutton Lane on 5-3-1830. Dutton Lane purchased several
items from the 1846 Estate of John M. Gass on behalf of his widow, Esther Brown Gass and “John’s
children”. John M. Gass was the younger brother of Susanna Gass Lane. Esther Brown Gass was a
granddaughter of Old Jotham and Pheby Brown.
7. John M. Gass, born in 1799/1800. John M. Gass was unborn at the time of his father’s death in 1799.
John married Sally (Sarah) Weems on 4-6-1820 (or 1822, both dates are in the Burgner Marriages book).
John “of Jacob” Gass and his family are enumerated in the 1830 census: John Gass “of Jacob”, age 20-30;
his wife Sarah Weems, age 30-40; one son, age 5-9, and two daughters, ages 0-9. This is the family of
George W. Gass, born 1823, who was named the Guardian of Catherine E. Gass, Mary M. Gass and Sarah
Jane Gass by the Greene County Court in 1846.
John M. Gass married a second time to Esther Brown on 1-11-1844. Esther Brown, born 7-7-1818 is
believed to be the daughter of William Brown, a son of Old Jotham and Pheby Brown. John M. Gass died
before 1-5-1846 when the Greene County Court set-off his widow’s dower.
George W. Gass was the Administrator of the Estate of John M. Gass. On 4-6-1846, George was appointed
to be the guardian of his sisters, who at that date, would have been minors. Esther Brown Gass remarried
shortly before the 1850 Census to John B. Hawkins on 12-10-1849. Esther Brown Gass Hawkins died on
2-1-1866 and is buried at Morrison Cemetery.
Page 14
GASS FAMILIES OF GREENEVILLE
(Continued)
JACOB GASS (DIED 1799)
(Continued)
The children of John M. Gass and his first wife, Sarah Weems, were: (1) George W. Gass, born 12-10-
1823, died 9-13-1884 buried Cross Anchor Cemetery; (2) Catherine E. Gass, born c. 1830 who married
William P. Hankins on 8-13-1854; (3) Mary M. Gass, who married Jacob Newman on 8-5-1849; and
(4) Sarah Jane Gass (no marriage record is found for Sarah Jane Gass in Greene County.)
Persons who are interested in the Family of Jacob Gass Senior should obtain a copy of the Greene County
Genealogy Society’s publication, The Pioneer, issue May 1997, Volume 13 Number 1.
JAMES GASS (1773-1842)
James Gass was born on 3-4-1773. He was a brother of John (died 1840) and Jacob (died 1799). James
was still in Ireland when his oldest son was born in 1791. He then went to Virginia where his son, Charles,
was born in 1793. The first Greene County tax list in which James Gass appears is that of 1798. In the
1809 and 1812 tax lists of the Roaring Fork/Cross Anchor area, James owned 81 acres of land. James was
a Sgt. in the War of 1812 serving in the Captain James Penny Company.
James first married Eleanor “Nelly” G. Bailey. They had ten children. Nelly died on 2-8-1811. James
remarried to Polly (Mary), whose surname is not known, and they had one son. James Gass died on 7-15-
1842 and left a Will naming his children. The Executor of James’ estate was his son, Charles Gass. There
is also a Family Bible with the inscription: “February 1816 wrote by John Gass Junior”. This is an
example of when the designation of “junior” does not indicate a relationship to a “senior”. John Gass
“Junior” was the son of James Gass. James Gass and his wives are buried at Cross Anchor. The children
of James Gass are identified in the Family Bible:
1. John Gass, born 7-19-1791 in Ireland. John married Polly McAmis/McAmish (1798-1856) on 10-
26-1820. John died on 6-29-1839. Both John and Polly are buried at Cross Anchor. The Family Bible
gives the names of nine children: (1) Nancy Gass, born 3-9-1814; died 3-16-1831. (2) James Gass, born c.
1821; (3) Nellie Gass; (4) Lizzie Gass, born c.1829; (5) Polly Ann Gass; (6) William Gass, born c. 1823;
(7) Gaston Gass, born c. 1827; (8) John Gass, born c. 1831; and (9) Charles Gass, born c. 1837.
2. Charles Gass, born 11-18-1793 in Virginia. Charles married three times, first to Nancy Adams (1786-
1848); then to Elizabeth Hoyal (1804-1869) and lastly to Elizabeth Hull (1812-1888). Charles Gass served
in the War of 1812 and drew a Pension. He was a Justice of the Peace in Greene County for many years.
Based on the 1836 Civil Districts List, Charles apparently owned land in both District 8 (western part of
Greene County) and in District 12 (the Roaring Fork/Cross Anchor area of northern Greene County). In
the 1830 Census, Charles and his wife have one son, age 10-14. In the 1840 Census, Charles had two
young men (ages 10-29 years) and a young female age 15-20 in his household. One of the young men was
Charles’ son, James. H. Gass, and the young female was James’ wife. By 1850, no children were in
Charles’ household. Charles Gass died on 12-5-1882. He and all three of his wives are buried at New
Bethel Church Cemetery. One son is known and he is: (1) James H. Gass, born 10-8-1816, who married
Margaret Anderson on 10-23-1839. James H. Gass died on 7-5-1873. James’ children are identified in
their grandfather’s Will and are Nancy, Rebecca, James Junior, Thomas and Caswell Gass. James and his
wife, Margaret (1821-1875) are also buried at New Bethel Church Cemetery. The other young man in the
1840 household of Charles Gass is not identified at this time, but he does not appear to be a son. The only
bequests made by Charles in his 1882 Will were to his deceased son James’ family.
Page 15
GASS FAMILIES OF GREENEVILLE
(Continued)
JAMES GASS (1773-1842)
(Continued)
3. Samuel Gass, born 11-20-1795. He married Rebecca Kidwell on 3-31-1813. Samuel is in the 1828
Tax List of the Roaring Fork/Cross Anchor area, and in 1830 he was the “Captain” of this Militia area. He
is not enumerated in the 1840 Greene County census, and in his father’s 1842 Will, Samuel was deceased.
4. Joseph Gass, born 3-6-1798. Joseph is not in the 1830 Census, nor is he in the 1836 Civil Districts
Listing. A marriage is not found for him in Greene County.
5. Elizabeth “Betsy” Gass, born 3-20-1800, who married John Armitage on 12-23-1817.
6. James Harvey Gass (Junior), born 11-22-1802. I do not find a marriage for him, nor is he
enumerated in the 1830 and 1840 censuses. He is not in the 1836 Civil Districts List which infers he had
either died or left Greene County by that time. In 1846, a James H. Gass “Minister of the Gospel”
performed a marriage for Alfred Armitage. He may or may not be James Harvey Gass, a son of James
Gass (Senior). James Junior is not in the 1850 census of Greene County.
7. Agnes Gass, born 3-1-1804. There is no marriage for her in Greene County.
8. Polly Gass, born 4-13-1807, who married Samuel Babb on 4-17-1827. She had died before 1842.
9. Margaret Gass, born 2-8-1809, who possibly married James Moffett on 9-8-1829.
10. William Gass, born 1-1-1811. William married Polly McFerran on 10-19-1830. They are not
enumerated in the 1840 Census, nor are they found in the 1850 Census.
11. George Madison Gass, born 11-21-1815. George was the only child by James Gass and his second
wife, Polly. In October 1838, George “late of Greene County” was indicted for gambling by the Greene
County Courts on the testimony of James Johnson. On 9-5-1842 George owed a debt of $7.50 to his
father’s Estate. This debt was annotated as “doubtful, moved away”. He is never found in the Greene
County marriages nor in a Census.
SAMUEL GASS (1764-1839)
Samuel Gass was born about 1764 in County Down, Ireland. He married Rebecca Kerr, but the marriage
was not in Greene County. Samuel was in Greene County by 1789 when he witnessed a land deed.
Information provided by descendants for the Tennessee Historical Society’s book, First Families of
Tennessee, states Samuel came to America at the age of 21 (about 1785), and within two years settled in
Greene County, Tennessee. The Samuel Gass family lived on a 100 acre farm on Dumplin Creek on the
Nolichuckey River which Samuel had purchased from his father-in-law, David Kerr (a Revolutionary War
soldier). Samuel was in Greene County until about 1792 when a child was born in Jefferson County.
Samuel Gass died in Jefferson County in 1839. The information on Samuel Gass comes from the East
Tennessee Historical Society’s publication Tennessee Ancestors, Volume 8 (3), December 1992. This
information is well researched and footnoted. It is very likely Samuel Gass (1764-1839) was a brother of
John, Jacob and James Gass of Greene County. It would not have been unusual for their children to visit
their kin. Some of the marriages found in the Burgner book of Greene County marriages could well be for
members of the Samuel Gass Family.
The children of Samuel Gass according to descendant information are:
Page 16
GASS FAMILIES OF GREENEVILLE
(Continued)
SAMUEL GASS (1764-1839)
(Continued)
1. John, born 1788 in Greene County, who served in the War of 1812 in George Gregory’s Company of
East Tennessee Militia. He married Anna Cox on 3-25-1818 in Greene County and they had nine children:
William B., Dorothy, Mary Melzinia, Martha E., Nancy A., John C., Margaret, James L. and Juliet Emily.
All of the children were born in Jefferson County.
2. Margaret “Peggy”, born c. 1789 in Greene County, who married “a Britton”.
3. David, born 1791 in Greene County. He married Nancy Branston in Jefferson County on 3-18-1885.
David and Nancy had six children: Cassandra, Samuel Greenbury, John Conway, Daniel Pinkney, Andrew
Theodorick, and Margaret Louise.
4. Andrew, born May 1792 in Jefferson County. He was a Sergeant in the War of 1812 in Reuben
Tipton’s Company, Chiles Battalion of Mounted Gunmen, East Tennessee Volunteers. He married Mary P.
Collins. They had five children, only one is known, William T. Gass.
5). Harvey, born c. 1794, for whom no information is available.
6. James T., born 1796. James served with his brother Andrew in the War of 1812. He married Elizabeth
Van Dyke on 3-30-1815. They had nine children: James A., Freeman M., Mary Jane, Samuel E., Andrew
W., David M., Powell, John J. and William T.
7. Joseph, born 1798. He married Jane Kerr on 2-10-1817. They had four children: William, Julian,
Joseph E., and John.
8. Elizabeth, born 1800, who married Hezekiah Ashmore.
9. Jane, born c. 1803, who married William Carter.
10. Mary, born c. 1805 who married Joseph Thornhill.
11. Ewing E., born 1807. He married Parmelia Scruggs. They had eight children: Frederick; Rufus;
Harvey P.; John M., who was a doctor and received his education in Greeneville and married Nancy Davis
of Greeneville; George; Elizabeth; Alexander; and P. E. (a female).
ALEXANDER GASS (BORN C. 1770)
Although Alexander Gass is never found in the records of Greene County, a young man in the 1830 Census
is very puzzling. He is John Gass “of Alexander”. In 1830, John is age 30-40 (a birth year of 1790-1800).
His father, Alexander, could be presumed to have a birth year of c. 1765-1775, and he would be a
contemporary of John Gass (1758-1840), James Gass (1773-1842), Jacob Gass (died 1799) and Samuel
Gass (1764-1839), all of whom are in the records of Greene County, Tennessee
Alexander Gass is an “unidentified” person, and he may be another Gass brother. His son John Gass “of
Alexander” in the 1830 Census, and he appears to be Col. John Gass, born 4-10-1795; died 3-14-1838
buried Cross Anchor Cemetery.